The Cardinals defensive backs were asked about how QB Carson Palmer is playing in camp...
Safety Rashad Johnson: “The timing, the zip, the placement of the ball. He’s just been on fire. I’m surprised to see how well he’s come back from the (knee) injury. I think it took us a week and half to get an interception off of him. With the secondary we have, that’s very impressive. He’s playing at a very, very high level. You can tell he understands the offense way better than he did a couple years ago. I’m excited, man. I’ve never seen a quarterback play this well in person, besides Kurt Warner.”
Safety Tyrann Mathieu: “His arm has gotten so much stronger. And just his confidence. He’s throwing the ball into double coverage and against our best cornerback. That confidence he has and the trust in his receivers, that’s what stands out to us the most. We practice against him but we don’t play against him. He’s on our team so we’re pretty excited for the season to get here.”
Cornerback Patrick Peterson: “The way he’s going through his progressions, as far as one, two, three reads. You can tell he’s much more comfortable within the offense and Coach Arians’ play calling. And his arm looks so much stronger than the years past. Just look at him, his demeanor, his confidence is different. I wish we could just wrap him up in a whole bunch of bubble wrap and keep him safe leading up to the season.”
In the 15 games since his team’s 2013 bye, Palmer is averaging 277 yards 1.8 touchdowns and 0.8 interceptions. Those are fringe QB1 numbers, and he has a nice receiving corps (including Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown) to throw to. Everything is going smoothly with his recovery from ACL surgery, so he's our favorite late-round sleeper at the QB position. For more on Palmer, be sure to read the Sleeper Alert that Senior Editor John Paulsen issued back in June.
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