The Harsh Reality of NFL Injuries: What Happens to Carson Palmer, Cardinals?

Carson Palmer is a ghost.

He’s invisible, removed. A name on a list.

Just another player taken off the depth chart and shipped over to injured reserve with a knee injury that officially ended his season this past Sunday.

It’s a lonely place, a quiet place on IR.

Surgery will come soon. Then rehab. And that’s a grind.

Months of strengthening, flexibility and a structured routine that will test even the toughest guys in the league. Up and down. Good days. Bad days. That’s the mentality when players start the long road back from a torn-up knee.

They are isolated from the locker room with a daily schedule that starts (and ends) under the watchful eye of team trainers with ice bags for the ride home.

"I'm not going to lie, I cried like a baby last night," Palmer said on Monday when discussing the injury.

Surprised to hear the quarterback say that? You shouldn’t be, because this stuff will emotionally kick players in the butt when a season is taken away from them.

It happens fast—and the player knows he’s in trouble.

Bring out the cart, drive up the tunnel and suddenly, well, they fade away as the game (and the team) rolls on.

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

That’s reality in the league. Or, it’s the dark side of the game, the cold business that exists while we quickly move on to the next guy in line.

The focus now shifts to Arizona Cardinals backup quarterback Drew Stanton as we immediately start to analyze how Bruce Arians’ team will survive without its No. 1 guy under center.

Can Stanton win games for the 8-1 Cardinals? Sure. He’s already proven that. But can he compete with Aaron Rodgers in the playoffs, or Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers on the championship stage?

Maybe.

We all understand that players get busted up every Sunday in the NFL. Rookies, veterans, Pro Bowlers. It doesn’t matter. Quality talent that is lost for the year with a knee, ankle or shoulder issue. And the season doesn’t stop for an injury.

No different than a training camp practice when a guy goes down. Just move the drill up 10 to 15 yards so he doesn’t get stepped on while he lies there on the ground as the trainers check him out.

There is no time, no patience in this league for injuries.

Because of that, it will be business as usual this week for the Cardinals with game plans, practice scripts and new install as they prep for a visit from the Detroit Lions Sunday out in the desert.

The Cardinals will hand the ball to Stanton and stay aggressive with the play-calling while leaning on their pressure-based defense or special teams to produce field position.

It’s Stanton’s team now.

Does Palmer’s injury impact the club or the mentality that exists in that Arizona locker room? I’m sure it will. That’s to be expected when you lose a leader, a warrior like Palmer.

But while we go back to the game tape on Stanton, discuss the talent he has to work with at the wide receiver position and adjust our fantasy lineups, Palmer will begin the process of starting over.

And that stinks.

I know Palmer just got paid, and he’s made a bunch of cash over the course of his career. Some people will look at that and try to rationalize this injury because of the money he has in the bank.

That’s fine, but I don’t see it that way. Palmer just lost a valuable opportunity because of this injury.  

Yes, the Cardinals will continue to practice, play games and work toward an NFC West title. They have a heck of a football coach and enough talent to compete without their veteran quarterback.

However, when the Cardinals line up on Sunday, Palmer will be watching the game just like us, removed and isolated from the real action on the field.

A forgotten quarterback with his knee elevated to reduce the swelling.

Seven-year NFL veteran Matt Bowen is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report.

Follow @MattBowen41