INDIANAPOLIS -- The Arizona Cardinals don't sound like a team courting quarterbacks in the upcoming draft.
Coach Bruce Arians told Around the League on Friday that he's fully sold on Carson Palmer, calling him a Super Bowl-level passer who's far from finished as an NFL starter.
"There's no doubt," Arians said. "He's got plenty of juice left in the tank and he's in great condition and he's always been in great condition, so I would think he can play up to 36, 37."
Arians ranks as one of the league's better quarterback teachers, having molded Ben Roethlisberger with the Steelers and Andrew Luck with the Colts. His history with young signal-callers suggests Arizona might spend a May pick on a prospect, but Arians shot that down with zeal.
"If I thought there was a guy that was in (Big Ben's or Luck's) caliber, yes, but I don't think quarterbacks learn anything holding clipboards," Arians said. "My experience with them is to throw them in and, if they're good enough, play. That's the way you get better, because you get every rep in practice. If you're holding a clipboard, you're not getting any reps in practice."
We have plenty of issues with the concept of Palmer as a long-term solution, but the Cardinals appear sold on the aging passer as the right guy to take Arizona all the way.
"There's no doubt in my mind," Arians said. "The way he played at the end of the season, he's still got enough and having played against him all those years in Cincinnati, he's still got plenty. He can make all the throws."
The latest "Around The League Podcast" discusses controversial draft prospects Johnny Manziel and Jadeveon Clowney and reviews the offseason forecasts for the St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers.
