Arizona Cardinals' quarterback Carson Palmer told reporters that his shoulder felt "great" Monday morning after his first start since Week 1. Palmer had been dealing with an injury to a nerve in his shoulder that sidelined him for three weeks before his start against the Washington Redskins on Sunday. It appears as if Palmer is completely pain free.
"It felt great all day," Palmer said. "I treated it today and it definitely was tired after the game, but felt really good."
Palmer said that he won't throw again until Wednesday, but Cardinals' coach Bruce Arians said that the plan is for Palmer to do "hopefully everything" in practice. The 34-year-old quarterback admitted that, although there was no pain, it was clear his arm was "weak" after the win against Washington.
"I hope to get as many reps in as possible because I need them," he said. "It's going to take a while. It's going to take at least a week of throwing, I would think. It's kind of what I'm expecting to really get it back. It just needs to get back in shape. It's just out of shape. It's like sitting on the couch after training camp -- you have a knee issue or high ankle sprain, you just get out of shape, you get out of the football shape. My arm's out of throwing shape, and that'll come back."
Palmer completed 28 of 244 attempts for 250 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. Despite the weakness he spoke of, Palmer's return should mean big things for Cardinals' receiver Michael Floyd. Floyd, a popular breakout candidate during the preseason, caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown against the Redskins. Although Larry Fitzgerald had the bigger day, Floyd is the Arizona receiver you want going forward.
The third-year pass catcher is a strong deep threat with a 19.1 average yards per catch so far this season. Palmer, who is a big fan of the deep ball, will look downfield for Floyd often. Arizona's improved running game should open up a lot of opportunities for play-action, with Floyd seeing the majority of those targets. Palmer's continued presence is a huge boost to Floyd's fantasy value.
"Now he feels great so we should be able to just get better and better and get stronger," Arians said of Palmer.
