Getty Quarterbacks Carson Palmer of the Arizona Cardinals and Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers shake hands and talk following the NFL game at the University of Phoenix Stadium on September 27, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona.
Could free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick be on his way to the Arizona Cardinals? After Carson Palmer broke his arm during Sundays game against the Los Angeles Rams, many have asked just that.
Palmer will have surgery to repair his broken left arm and could miss anywhere from eight weeks to the rest of the season, ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reported following the injury. The veteran quarterback suffered the injury near halftime when he was hit by Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald while throwing a pass that was intercepted by safety Lamarcus Joyner.
Palmer tried to re-enter the game on the next series but wasn’t allowed to do so by the medical staff. He was evaluated by doctors on the sideline and jogged to the locker room. He didn’t return the rest of the game.
So what’s the possibility that the Cardinals general manager Steve Keim would sign Kaepernick to replace Palmer going forward?
In September, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said during in a conference call with reporters that he was “surprised” Kaepernick hadn’t been signed by a team. He added that he believes Kaepernick still has what it takes to compete in the NFL.
“In the right system he’s still a heck of a player,” Arians said during the call. “I don’t really like talking about guys who are not on my team.”
The Cardinals punted on signing Kaepernick during the offseason when he became a free agent and instead signed Blaine Gabbert to be No. 3 on the depth chart behind Palmer and Drew Stanton.
Many owners and general managers across the league have remained hesitant to give the former 49ers quarterback a call. Some speculate it’s because of his protests during the national anthem and the media firestorm that comes with it. Others say the 29-year-old quarterback doesn’t have what it takes anymore to lead an NFL offense.
On Sunday, Stanton took over in the absence of Palmer and finished 5-for-14 for 62 yards with 1 interception. Following the game, Arians was asked what the Cardinals planned to do moving forward with the possibility of Palmer missing the rest of the season. He said that he intends to stick with Stanton the rest of the way.
“Drew has played and won a lot of games for us,” he told reporters. “All the confidence, he and Blaine (Gabbert) stepped up to take over the quarterback job.”
Given what Arians has said, it seems unlikely that the Cardinals would give Kaepernick a call.
