When Carson Palmer arrived in Arizona via a trade with Oakland in 2013, the Heisman Trophy winner and former No. 1 overall pick was widely regarded as a player in the twilight of his career. Yet, under the tutelage of head coach Bruce Arians, Palmer orchestrated one of the most remarkable late-career revivals in modern NFL history, elevating the Cardinals offense into a downfield powerhouse.

Palmer was the archetypal pocket passer, possessing rare arm strength, field vision, and the willingness to take hits while standing tall in the pocket. In Arians’ "no risk, no biscuit" system, Palmer excelled at pushing the football into high-degree-of-difficulty windows, driving outer-third boundary routes and vertical seams with exceptional velocity and touch.

His debut season in 2013 saw him pass for 4,274 yards and 24 touchdowns, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to post a 4,000-yard passing season for three different franchises. Though a torn ACL cut short a promising 6-0 start in 2014, Palmer returned in 2015 to put together a single-season masterpiece.

At 36 years old, Palmer set single-season franchise records with 4,671 passing yards and 35 touchdown passes. He led the entire NFL in total QBR (76.4), yards per attempt (8.7), and yards per completion (13.7) while guiding Arizona to a 13–3 record and an NFC Championship Game appearance. That performance earned him a Pro Bowl selection, Second-Team All-Pro honors, and a top finish in AP NFL MVP voting behind winner Cam Newton. Palmer's 2015 campaign remains the golden standard for Cardinals quarterbacks, setting untouched franchise records with 4,671 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, and a 104.6 passer rating.

Palmer backed up his MVP candidate campaign with another heavy-volume year in 2016, throwing for 4,233 yards and 26 touchdowns. After a broken arm prematurely ended his 2017 season in Week 7, he officially announced his retirement in early 2018. Across 60 games in an Arizona uniform, Palmer posted a 38-21-1 record—the highest winning percentage by any starting quarterback in franchise history.

He finished his desert tenure with 16,782 passing yards and 105 touchdown passes, earning induction into the Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor in September 2019.