Niner Noise
FanSided

The biggest question facing each NFL team in 2017

By Peter Panacy

Mar 2, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks to the media during the 2017 combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks to the media during the 2017 combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer reacts as he is taken off the field on a cart after suffering an injury in the second half against the St. Louis Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer reacts as he is taken off the field on a cart after suffering an injury in the second half against the St. Louis Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Arizona Cardinals

Can Carson Palmer stay healthy?

The Arizona Cardinals should have been one of the NFL’s better teams in 2016, only to fall to a disappointing 7-8-1 record in the NFC West.

Last season left many Cardinals fans wondering, “what happened?” as a slew of questions began to surround an aging core group.

Chief among these questions is quarterback Carson Palmer’s health. Palmer will turn 38 years old at the end of this season, and he’s coming off a year in which the Cardinals allowed 25 sacks.

That’s not a bad number, in of itself, but any one of those QB hits could wind up being the one forcing head coach Bruce Arians to turn to his backup quarterbacks.

Those guys, for the record, are Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert — not exactly the caliber of signal-callers a playoff-hopeful team would want for any extended period of time.

Arizona failed to land a promising franchise-type quarterback for the future in the NFL Draft this offseason. So it’s easy to see why the Cardinals’ prospects for getting back on track rely almost solely on Palmer’s ability to stay on the field.