Palmer is enjoying a career resurgence, but away from the field he’s just focused on being dad. (Instagram)
Welcome to the Renaissance of Carson Palmer.
The Arizona Cardinals quarterback has defied just about every expectation, battling back from injuries, that’s multiple ones, that very easily could have ended his career. He’s fought age and questions and trades and found his way to success in the desert.
It would have been easy, far too easy, for Palmer to walk away from it all. When he tore his ACL, the second time, it would have been simple to just turn in the uniform and leave football behind. He thought about it. He considered all his options. Then, he talked to his family and they wouldn’t let him.
So, Palmer went back. He rehabbed and he worked and he found a determination he wasn’t aware he had. And it was all because his family, his wife Shaelyn and his kids, believed in him. Now, a win away from a Super Bowl berth, Palmer’s family still believes him and they’ll be cheering from their Arizona home as he and the Cardinals face off against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Palmer clan:
1. Palmer Met His Wife Shaelyn at USC Freshman Athlete Orientation
Carson and Shaelyn Palmer both met while they were attending USC, starting their respective athletic careers. (Getty)
It was almost like fate.
Carson Palmer was one of the most heralded athletes in the history of USC football. Shaelyn Fernandes was set to become the Trojans starting goalkeeper on the women’s soccer team. They first crossed paths at freshman athlete orientation.
The future Mrs. Palmer was a dominant athlete in her own right, coming to USC after a four-year career at Presentation High School in San Jose, California, leading her team to a 78-4-5 record, four league titles and a school record 55 shutouts. Palmer proposed while the pair were still at USC, surprising Shaelyn after dinner at an area restaurant. Fernandes told the Los Angeles Times:
I couldn’t figure it out. We were running late and I told Carson, ‘Just call the restaurant and say we’ll be late.’ But Carson wouldn’t do it. When we got to the restaurant, I understood. We were taken outside to this single table overlooking the ocean. We had our own waiter and violin player. Everything was ready. When dessert came, it was under a cover and the waiter took the cover off and there was the [engagement] ring.
The pair tied the knot on July 5, 2003 in Pebble Beach, California, just a few months after Palmer had been selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 1 overall pick in the Draft.
2. The Pair Have Three Children Together
Shaelyn and Carson became first-tie parents in 2009 when she gave birth to twins – a boy named Fletch and a daughter named Elle. Of course, being a parent to newborns while trying to deal with an NFL schedule is never easy.
“One minute you’re so exhausted and then the next minute something happens that makes you laugh or smile,” Palmer told the Bengals’ website. “By 4 o’clock my son poops for the third time in the day. I can’t do that.”
The Palmers welcomed their third child, a daughter named Bries, who actually helped spark her dad’s recovery after he tore his ACL for the second time. Palmer told NFL.com:
“Every night I come home and my youngest daughter Bries goes, ‘Daddy, is that the broken leg?’ She can’t remember if it’s left or right, but she asks me every single day, and it’s not broken anymore, but she remembers the surgery process, and her mom crying, and she was at the game and just the chaos that comes with that. And I think she was scarred by that moment. It was probably pretty traumatizing for her to go through that at a young age, but she pats it and she comes and sits on this leg and gives me a hug. That’s priceless and I hope I never forget that.”
Sometimes it’s the help we least expect that provides most support. For Palmer, that support is his children.
3. Shaelyn & Palmer Are Expecting Their Fourth Child – Due on Super Bowl Sunday
The Palmer family is set to welcome a brand-new member in the next few days. (Instagram)
The Palmer family is about to get a bit bigger and while Shaleyn and Carson are certainly excited at the prospect of welcoming their fourth child, they do have to admit that the timing is a bit off. Shaleyn’s due date? Super Bowl Sunday.
Of course, the question of whether or not Palmer would miss a potential shot at playing in the Super Bowl to be there when his child is born has come up and the quarterback has a very simple answer; of course not.
“I’m not missing any football,” he said in November. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be present at three of my kids’ births. If I miss one, you miss one.”
The Palmers are also doing a fairly good job of planning in advance. “Everything is set up hopefully so the baby comes a week early,” Palmer said. “Like every pregnant woman, she’s like, ‘get this baby our of me.'”
4. Palmer’s Father, Bill, Worked on Both Coasts
Palmers family, including his father, made some serious sacrifices to help jumpstart his football career. (Getty)
Bill Palmer worked for an insurance company while his son, and future No. 1 overall draft pick, Carson was growing up. The family lived in Laguna Hills, California. Things were good. Then, the company told Palmer they were relocating; to Connecticut.
So, the Palmer patriarch had a choice in front of him. He could bring his family to the East Coast, a less-than-ideal football situation for Carson, or he could find a way to keep them in California and commute back and forth. He picked the second option.
“Carson’s dream was to go to (Southern Cal),” Bill said. “If we took him to Connecticut, SC would never know where he was.”
Over the next few years, Bill commuted back and forth every weekend, flying coast-to-coast and getting home on Friday nights so he could see his son play high school football. It wasn’t easy, but it paid off. In spades. And touchdowns.
5. His Brother, Jordan, Was Drafted by the Redskins in 2007
Palmers younger brother, Jordan, staged an NFL career of his own after a successful college career at UTEP. (Getty)
Carson isn’t the only athlete in the Palmer family. His brother, Jordan, was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Drafter after playing college football at UTEP.
Over the course of his career, Jordan played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. He appeared in just five games and completed 11 of his 18 career pass attempts for 66 total yards. Although Palmer never jam-packed his stat line, he still managed to attract a few headlines.
When Palmer joined the Buffalo Bills roster in 2014, his former team, the Chicago Bears, weren’t particularly pleased. After all, Palmer had spent his entire training camp with the Bears and was now considered the Bills “secret weapon” Jay Cutler told the Chicago Tribune at the time:
It’s not an ideal situation. It’s not exactly what you’d want. He can give them a few things I’m sure. He’ll be meeting with [Bills defensive coordinator Jim] Schwartz pretty much immediately.