Carson Palmer knew the moment it happened. His season was over.
The Arizona Cardinals are 8-1 and in great position to make a run at the Super Bowl. Palmer won't get to play a role after suffering a torn ACL in Sunday's win against the St. Louis Rams. Palmer met with reporters on Monday, less than 24 hours after suffering the devastating injury.
"I'm not going to lie, I cried like a baby last night," he said. "And I'm not an emotional guy. I don't cry. The last time I cried like that was when I lost my friend and teammate Chris Henry back in '09."
"My phone's been non-stop with prayers," he added. "There's a lot of people that care for me and I'm very fortunate for that."
Palmer expressed frustration about the nature of the injury, which occurred while attempting to evade a Rams blitzer. Palmer said it was the type of play he'd been involved with "a thousand times." This time was different.
"I don't know what the future holds this time. There's a lot of unknown, millions of unknown questions," he said. "I'm going to play football again -- I hope it's here."
The injury came just two days after Palmer signed an extension with Arizona. NFL Media's Albert Breer reported, citing a source that reviewed the contract, that both Palmer's $6.5 million signing bonus and his $3.5 million roster bonus next season are already paid, essentially ensuring he'll be back with the Cardinals in 2015.
Palmer will become a year-to-year decision past that.
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