Carson Palmer has plenty of football left

TEMPE, Ariz. -- He just turned 37, but Father Time isn't about to spell the end for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer. Not according to head coach Bruce Arians, at least.

Arians said Palmer has been playing as well as he's ever played for the past month, giving him full confidence that next season could still be a banner year for the 14-year veteran.

As for playing beyond that, Arians wouldn't fully commit, saying, "Hell, we just talk about 'next year, next year.' I can't even think that far ahead."

But Arians has worked with Palmer long enough now to know Palmer can keep performing at a high level and that there's no reason to walk away from the game if the quarterback still feels like playing, which Palmer has said he does.

"Physically, he works out like a maniac and he takes great care of himself," Arians said, "so you know, I'm looking at Drew Brees and these guys aren't getting old anymore. Sports science is such an unbelievable thing now with diet and exercise and the things they can do. Peyton (Manning) played really well all the way up to the end and (Tom) Brady's up there, too, so there's no reason why he can't."

Palmer has thrown for eight touchdowns in the last four weeks and has averaged nearly 300 yards with no turnovers in three of those games.

"Yeah, the guys around him have picked it up," Arians said. "The pass protection has been better, the receivers have been better, but yeah, I think he was a victim of the injuries and things that went on at wide receiver and missed some guys earlier in the season that he has not missed. But yeah, he's played extremely well this month."

Palmer's leadership abilities instantly made him one of Arians' all-time favorites. The coach referenced how Palmer frequently takes players aside before, during and after practices, offering them encouragement and reassurance.

"They know he has confidence in them, the way he's handled Smoke (John Brown) and J.J. (Nelson)," Arians said. "That's what you want. You want your quarterback to be a leader, but he's also like a father figure to those guys. He's not a big brother. He's too old to be a big brother. I'm a cool uncle, but he's a father figure."

Brown, whom Palmer has taken under his wing since the receiver's rookie year, said he thinks Palmer can play for as long as he wants.

"Yeah, I think he can keep going," Brown said. "If he's able to keep going, he would make everyone in the receiving room look good like he's been doing for the past few years since I've been here and even before I got here."

As for Palmer being able to stay productive like a Brees or a Brady, Brown agrees with Arians.

"Oh yes, most definitely he could be one of those guys," Brown said. "Carson is such a competitor, he pushes himself at all times so I think he could do it."

If Palmer shocks the Cardinals and decides to retire after this season, Brown said he'd be crushed but would have to deal with it.

"If he ups and retires, you have no choice but to understand, but I'll be kind of sad a little bit because I'd love to keep him around," Brown said. "But he has other things to do as far as being a father and being a great husband, so I'd just have to respect his decision if that's what he were to decide to do."

--Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald hasn't revealed what his plans are for beyond this season, but Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said the veteran star will want to stick around because the franchise will have a team that should contend for a Super Bowl.

That remains to be seen, given the Cardinals have 20-plus players heading to free agency. Nonetheless, Arians said he knows Fitzgerald will like what he sees out of the roster soon enough.

"I think he knows how good it can be," Arians said. "It's just a matter of what free agents off our own team are we going to be able to keep."

Arians thinks Fitzgerald will be back regardless just based on the receiver's wild reaction and celebration last weekend in Seattle when Chandler Catanzaro kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired.

"And if he ever hits me that hard after a game - you would not think he's retiring because my shoulder's still really, really sore and he knows it, so it's going to cost him," Arians said of Fitzgerald. "He knocked the crap out of me and he wouldn't let go."

Asked if by costing Fitzgerald, he meant it will cost the player, financially, Arians nodded his head.

"Oh yeah," he said. "He got my shoulder, man. If I can't play golf, it's going to really cost him."