Cardinals plan for a world without Fitzgerald, Palmer
Football is a game without shame. Winning requires no justification. Championship rings erase all shame and indignity suffered in pursuit.
The Cardinals have no jewelry to flaunt. They remain one of 13 NFL teams without a Super Bowl trophy. But they rank among the lucky.
They have a fourth chance to get it right.
“I think this team is very, very hungry to not let last year repeat itself,” coach Bruce Arians said.
The 2017 Cardinals have plenty of reasons for optimism. They have corrected wrongs and checked boxes. They staged an extremely physical training camp to eliminate the soft underbelly that sabotaged previous teams.
They revamped their special teams. They plowed through an endless preseason without sustaining major injuries. They even filled the void at the COPP position (cornerback op-
When Gov. Doug Ducey and Sen. John McCain visited practice in the last week of Cardinals training camp, a handful of the team’s notable players stopped by to shake hands and talk with one or both of the politicians.
There was receiver Larry Fitzgerald, of course, quarterback Carson Palmer, cornerback Patrick Peterson and a newcomer to these meet-andgreets, running back David Johnson.
It was a small thing, close to inconsequential, but it did serve as a reminder the franchise’s transition from one era to the next has started.
Fitzgerald turned 34 last Thursday and is entering his 14th season. Palmer is 37 and in his 15th. Both took time to contemplate retirement after last season, and neither has ruled out retiring after this season.
Johnson, in contrast, is 25 and coming off a breakout season in which he set a franchise records for scrimmage yards (2,118) and touchdowns (20) and named first-team All-Pro.
So, Johnson was asked during that