The Arizona Cardinals travel to face the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, and the short week is likely to mean no Carson Palmer. The Cardinals quarterback suffered a concussion in the team’s Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He is in the concussion protocol, and Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said they will be “very, very careful” with him.
The concussion protocol requires a player be asymptomatic at rest, and then asymptomatic after exertion, and then pass a contact test. It usually takes two or three days to get through all that. The Cardinals will practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, leading up to TNF, with Monday probably a walkthrough. Odds are good he’ll be listed as a DNP for Monday and Tuesday. If he can get a limited session in Wednesday he could potentially still play, but odds have to be pretty slim.
One reason the Cardinals can be patient is Drew Stanton is a decent fill-in. He looked horrible in relief against the Rams, but I have a hunch he would look better with even a short week of preparation. The 49ers looked good against Case Keenum, and a quarter and a half of Dak Prescott. Otherwise, it’s been a rough go against quarterbacks. Palmer has been all over the place this season, so losing him for one game, particularly against a struggling 49ers team is not exactly the end of the world for Arizona.