Despite absurd chatter to the contrary, Carson Palmer's poor performance in Saturday's NFC Championship game doesn't tarnish what the Heisman Trophy winner accomplished during the regular season, nor does it reveal any flaws in the man's character.
But Palmer's struggles in the Cardinals' pair of playoff games are a strong signal that the Cards need to begin looking for his long-term successor sooner rather than later.
In 2015, the 36-year-old Palmer enjoyed the best regular season of his 13-year NFL career, including career-highs in passer rating (104.6), passing yards (4,671) and touchdown passes (35), the latter of which is a single-season franchise record.
But those skeptical of Palmer's ability to perform in the playoffs were validated, and then some. Palmer committed a total of eight turnovers in Arizona's playoff games against Green Bay and Carolina, and he was fortunate that number wasn't in double digits when all was said and done.
Palmer's reputation for not getting it done in the postseason has been magnified by a factor of 100 since Sunday night, and it has led some Birdgang members to call for the Cards to dump him and find another quarterback.
Silliness.
Palmer isn't in the same elite category as QBs like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and, yes, Cam Newton. But he's firmly entrenched in that second-tier, better-than-average category alongside guys like Philip Rivers and Tony Romo.
There's a reason the Chargers and Cowboys have stuck with Rivers and Romo despite not getting their respective teams to the Super Bowl: QBs of their caliber are hard to come by. As long as Palmer is healthy and playing at a high level, finding a suitable replacement is a tall task.
But the fact that Palmer just hasn't looked right in the postseason, combined with his advancing years, suggest the Cards should start grooming a replacement as soon as possible.
"Given Palmer's age and some concern about how far he can take them in the playoffs, the Cardinals can't afford to sit on him through the final three years of his contract," Sportingnews.com's Vinnie Iyer wrote Monday.
Realistically, backups Drew Stanton and Matt Barkley aren't going to be the answer when Palmer's time is up. This year's QB talent pool is deeper than in most seasons -- and we all know how good Arizona is at finding top-tier talent beyond the draft's first round.
After Sunday's debacle, some fans, and even a couple of national NFL analysts, went as far as to bring Palmer's character into question.
I've lost a lot of respect for Carson Palmer in these two playoff games. Ran away with reg-season QBR. Postseason stage too big for him.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 25, 2016
Genuine concern for Cardinals going forward: Carson Palmer has quit on the Bengals and the Raiders. When does he quit on the Cardinals?
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 25, 2016
That kind of analysis is unfair at best and flat-out idiotic at worst. A failure on the field doesn't say anything about Palmer's character as a human being off of it.
In December, Palmer attended teammate Calais Campbell's annual charity event, in which Cardinals players took underprivileged Valley kids on a pre-Christmas shopping spree.
Palmer went above and beyond throughout the event. He made sure each child got what he or she wanted for Christmas, and he asked the kids questions about their home lives and what they want to be when they grow up.
A rookie quarterback would learn a lot, both on and off the field, from Carson Palmer.
No, this isn't a question of character, nor is it a question of Palmer's status as an above-average QB. And hey, it's possible Palmer will look considerably sharper if and when the Cards advance to the playoffs next season.
But if Palmer's playoff struggles continue next year, wouldn't it be good to know the team had already spent a season grooming his predecessor? If the Cards' playoff window is open for another several years, which it certainly could be, it'd be nice to know they will eventually have another option at their disposal.
Palmer's career is winding down, and the Cards must have a plan in place for when his time is up in order to avoid another dark era similar to the one that took place in Glendale after Kurt Warner's retirement.
Now is the time for the Cardinals to look to the future. Now is the time to find Carson Palmer's successor.
