Was the Carson Palmer trade the right move for the Arizona Cardinals?

For the most part, the response to the trade that brought quarterback Carson Palmer to the Arizona Cardinals has been positive. There is some talk that it is a bad move, but overall people are happy with the move. Perhaps the play at quarterback since Kurt Warner retired makes any signing feel good.

Since everyone else is weighing in, here are my thoughts on the move.

Is Carson Palmer the answer? i don't know. I don't think so. He is a better answer.

Look. he threw for over 4000 yards and 22 touchdowns. The four QBs that played for Arizona a season ago combined for about 3300 yards passing and...11 TDs. However, while Palmer had some gaudy passing statistics, they came in part because the Raiders were always behind. He had to throw the football. He did do it well, but without results of wins.

It is clear that Palmer is a good quarterback. He even was a very good starter for a while. I don't know if his production translates into wins.

The one thing that stands out to me is the fact that he has only led his teams to two winning records in his career. That is as many winning records as Matt Cassel, and one of those was with the Chiefs. You can counter that Palmer played for the Bengals, but in just two seasons in the league, Andy Dalton has two playoff appearances...with the Bengals.

That worries me. He can throw the football, but does he know how to win games? In the NFL these days, you need a quarterback that can do that.

However, because of Palmer's skill level, there is a chance that this is a great move.

Now, the Cardinals gave up virtually nothing to get him. With the swapping of draft picks, it was like trading A.J. Jefferson for a starting quarterback. That's a great trade.

The contract? Did anyone really believe that Palmer was going to play for the same amount of money...or less than Drew Stanton? That was never going to happen.

The contract is good. If reports are true, the deal basically is set up like how Alex Smith had his contract set up in San Francsico. After this season, if the team wants to move on, they can and there will be very little hit to next year's salary cap. If you can get a starting quarterback...a viable starting quarterback...on a contract that has only one year of risk, you do it. That answer is easy.

You can't complain about this deal. Palmer is better than Drew Stanton. He is better than Kevin Kolb. He is WAY better than the other guys that started for the Cards last year.

So...the Cardinals got a clear upgrade at the position, they got him for almost nothing and his contract has no long term risk.

All of that is a win.

It certainly was a good move. Based on the basic criteria, it is the right move.

Is it a move that will make a difference? That is what we have to wait and see about.

If anything else, there is hope.

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