Carson Palmer admits offseason mistakes for years, will throw less this summer

It’s not often an NFL quarterback will say he’s throwing too much while preparing for a new season.

Alas, here comes Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer, who at 37 years old has to start facing some of the inevitable facts about aging.

Palmer, in a rather honest interview with the Arizona Republic‘s Kent Somers, admitted he’s made offseason mistakes for quite a long time:

“I don’t think I’ve done a good job the last eight or nine years of my career,” Palmer said. “I’ve treated the last eight or nine years like I was 24, 25, 26, like the first eight or nine years of my career.”

So how is Palmer making what he describes as a much-needed change? By throwing less, of course:

“I’m really doing everything except for throwing a football,” he said, “working out, lifting, foot work. All the muscles around the shoulder you can work without throwing a football. I’m just cutting back on all the throws.”

At worst, this is interesting insight into a veteran quarterback’s summer process.

At best, the Cardinals get a strong year out of Palmer. Unlike a team such as the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cardinals didn’t go out of their way to draft Palmer’s successor in the draft, instead signing Blaine Gabbert as insurance. Palmer posted one of the worst years of his career last season, completing 61 percent of his passes for 4,233 yards and 26 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.

Palmer will make for quite the interesting case study this year when it comes to how quarterbacks might be able to extend their effective playing years.