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Carson Palmer

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Carson Palmer

File:Tx palmer2.jpg

Personal Info
Date of Birth December 27, 1979
Place of Birth Fresno, California
Height 6'-5"
Weight 230 pounds
Player Information
Position Quarterback
Number 9
College University of Southern California
Awards Heisman Trophy; multiple NFL Player of the Week awards
Pro Bowls 1 (2006; did not play due to injury)
NFL Draft
Year 2003
Round, Pick 1st round, 1st overall
Team Cincinnati Bengals
Teams Played For
2003 - Present Cincinnati Bengals

Carson Palmer (born December 27, 1979 in Fresno, California,) is an American football quarterback who plays for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals franchise. He attended the University of Southern California, where he won the Heisman Trophy Award in 2002 in his senior season. He was drafted by the Bengals with the first overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.

Carson Palmer's younger brother, Jordan, is a highly-ranked quarterback at the University of Texas-El Paso entering his senior season in 2006.


Early years

Palmer attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School, where he passed for 31 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions as a senior. By the time he left high school, he had set 27 school records. He was also an excellent basketball player, and was named to the 1998 Student Sports Grid-Hoops All-America second team after averaging eight points and eight rebounds per game.

Collegiate career

Carson Palmer arrived at the University of Southern California in 1998 and immediately competed for the starting quarterback job with Mike Van Raaphorst. Van Raaphorst won, but due to his ineffectiveness, Palmer was named the starter in the ninth game of the season, becoming only the second true freshman to ever start at quarterback for the USC Trojans.

After three inconsistent years at USC, Palmer had a breakout senior year under the tutelage of new offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who was brought in by head coach Pete Carroll after spending 27 seasons at Brigham Young University and one season at North Carolina State University. Chow was able to bring the best out of Carson Palmer and the USC offense, which led to Palmer being named the Heisman Trophy Award winner, then the fifth Trojan to win the prestigious award — running backs Mike Garrett (1965), O.J. Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), and Marcus Allen (1981) preceded him. Palmer was the first and only Trojan quarterback to be honored with the award until lefty Matt Leinart won it as a junior in 2004.

Carson Palmer completed 309 passes for 3,942 yards and 33 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions during the 2002 season, and later led the Trojans to an impressive 38-17 victory over the University of Iowa in the Orange Bowl. His completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns were all USC single season records. In a November 30th game against Notre Dame, Palmer threw for 425 yards and lead his team to 610 yards of total offense, the most ever gained against Notre Dame in each category. Palmer left college as the Pac-10 Conferences’ all-time leader in passing yards (11,818), completions(927) and total offense(11,621), along with 72 career touchdown passes, a USC record at that time — Matt Leinart has since surpassed the record, which currently stands at 99.

His major at USC was public policy and management. Palmer was also roomates with current Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu.


NFL career

Carson Palmer did not play at all during his rookie season. In fact, veteran quarterback Jon Kitna took every snap during the 2003 season, during which Kitna was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Palmer instead watched and became familiar with the Bengals offense during games and practices under head coach Marvin Lewis, quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese, and Kitna. Under Kitna, the Cincinnati Bengals went 8-8, their first non-losing season in over a decade.

Before the Bengals' 2004 training camp, head coach Marvin Lewis had a dilemma over who would be his starting quarterback: the steady, if unspectacular Jon Kitna, or young Carson Palmer. He chose Palmer, and Kitna graciously moved to the dual role of backup quarterback and mentor.

While Palmer suffered from growing pains, he passed for 2,897 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions in 13 games, and the Bengals again finished 8-8. His performance greatly improved the stature of the Cincinnati Bengals among pundits and fans alike.

Off the field, Palmer and Jon Kitna are good friends and golfing buddies. In 2004, Palmer organized the Carson Palmer Foundation Golf Classic to raise funds for Hillview Acres, a shelter for abused and underprivileged children.

In 2005, Palmer led the Bengals to an 11-5 record and an AFC North division title, their first since 1988. In doing so, Carson Palmer became the first Bengals quarterback to finish with a 100+ passer rating, tied Indianapolis' Peyton Manning for most consecutive games with a triple digit passer rating, led the NFL in completion percentage, and set a franchise record by throwing a league-leading 32 touchdown passes.

On December 21, 2005, Carson Palmer was one of five Bengals voted to the 2006 Pro Bowl game. The others were offensive tackle Willie Anderson, kicker Shayne Graham, receiver Chad Johnson, and cornerback Deltha O'Neal. This would have been Palmer's first pro bowl appearance, but he did not play in it due to a severe knee injury he suffered in the wild card round of the 2005 playoffs against the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Early in the first quarter, Palmer launched a 66-yard completion to receiver Chris Henry. Steelers defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen, a former Bengal, collided with Palmer's left knee, leaving the quarterback writhing on the turf in agony. Palmer had to be taken off the field on a cart. A magnetic resonance imaging test revealed that Palmer had torn both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. Jon Kitna took over the helm and led the Bengals to a 17-14 lead at halftime. However, Kitna made several crucial errors during the second half, allowing the Steelers to rack up 17 unanswered points.

The game's officials ruled that von Oelhoffen did not have an unobstructed path to Palmer and that it was altered by Bengals offensive lineman Eric Steinbach and thus no penalty was warranted. Their decision was later affirmed by the NFL, who took no action against von Oelhoffen. Von Oelhoffen later apologized for wedging his shoulder against Palmer's knee.

Carson Palmer's rehabilitation continues and he is expected to start the Bengals' season opener at Kansas City. [1]

Contract extension

On December 29, 2005, Carson Palmer signed a 6-year, $118.75 million contract extension that will keep him in Cincinnati until 2014.


Career Stats

    Passing   Rushing
Season Team GP Comp Att Pct Yds TD INT Att Yds TD
2004 Cincinnati 13 263 432 60.9 2897 18 18 18 47 1
2005 Cincinnati 16 345 509 67.8 3836 32 12 34 41 1
2005-06 playoffs Cincinnati 1 1 1 100.0 66 0 0 0 0 0




Preceded by 1st Overall Pick in NFL Draft
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Cincinnati Bengals Starting Quarterbacks
2004-current 		Succeeded by
current
Preceded by Heisman Trophy Winner
2002 		Succeeded by
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