Carson Palmer Contract: Latest News and Rumors on Negotiations with Cardinals

Just days after signing a three-year, $50 million extension, Carson Palmer suffered a torn ACL that ended his 2014 season prematurely. Now the Arizona Cardinals and Palmer have agreed to an alteration to that deal that will make it less onerous on their 2015 salary cap.

Continue for updates.

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Palmer Agrees to Restructured Contract

Thursday, March 12

Kent Somers of AZCentral.com reported that the Cardinals and Palmer have agreed to a restructure and also divulged details:

On Feb. 25, Mike Jurecki and Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports reported Palmer and the Cardinals were discussing an arrangement that would convert the veteran's roster bonus into a signing bonus:

Cutting as much off the 2015 cap as possible could indicate an all-in push for the Cardinals, who could be sensing an opportunity to capitalize on a weakened NFC West. Bruce Arians has gone 21-11 in his two seasons since taking over in Arizona, something of a miracle given the team's injury issues and weaknesses at offensive skill positions.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Palmer's injury last season was basically the death knell for Arizona's hopes of a deep playoff run. Shoulder weakness and the ACL tear limited Palmer to just six games in 2014, all of which were Cardinals wins. He threw for 1,626 yards and 11 touchdowns against three interceptions, numbers that would translate to a return to Pro Bowl form over a full season.

Football Outsiders' defense-adjusted value over average metric ranked Palmer the 11th-best qualifying quarterback in football, while Pro Football Focus had him at sixth, one spot ahead of Peyton Manning. When Palmer went down and backup Drew Stanton followed, Arizona's offense imploded. The 11-man unit Arians fielded for Arizona's Wild Card loss to Carolina was among the worst in football.

Getting back a healthy—and cheaper—Palmer in 2015 may be the key to pairing the Cardinals' dominant defense with an offense worthy of a deep push into January.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.