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Arizona Cardinals need RB Adrian Peterson to push them over hump

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The Arizona Cardinals managed to make it into the playoffs last season even without a viable quarterback on the field, but this offseason their biggest issue may be in upgrading their talent at running back. Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton should be back to healthy by opening day, meaning the QB position won’t be a problem during the team’s 2015 postseason push. But the running back issue may be solvable with one name: Adrian Peterson.

To be clear, the Vikings are still sticking to their script about not trading Adrian Peterson under any circumstances. But a dynamic running back like him could be what makes the difference in terms of giving the Arizona Cardinals enough firepower to get out of a difficult division and contend in the playoffs this year. There are also other options, with an unusually strong crop of running backs available in the draft from Melvin Gordon to Todd Gurley to Duke Johnson on down. But would the Cards have the guts to pull the trigger on a Peterson trade?

That may depend on how much they would have to give up. They’d be bidding against the Cowboys, and against the fact that the Vikings don’t truly want to move him anyway. But such a move would instantly propel the Arizona Cardinals into being a serious contender in the NFC West, if they weren’t already.

Arizona Cardinals 2015: has Carson Palmer injury bug passed?

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The Arizona Cardinals pulled of the most singular of feats in 2014, making the playoffs with a quarterback who didn’t even belong in the league after a stunning series of injuries at the position. Although the injury bug wasn’t limited to the QB position, the team must now hope first and foremost that Carson Palmer can remain healthy for a full campaign so they can truly contend in the postseason. But how likely is such a prospect?

Carson Palmer is thirty-five years old and is reaching the point where injuries become a chronic concern for a quarterback. However he did take some time off during his “retirement” from the Bengals, meaning there is less wear and tear on him than some other players his age. The team has a decent fallback in the form of Drew Stanton, who was also improbably injured last year after taking over the starting job, but one has to wonder if the Arizona Cardinals might be ready to cover their bases in the upcoming draft.

The catch is that there are only two first round caliber quarterbacks available, and neither will fall to the Arizona Cardinals. That means the team is left looking at a second tier or developmental prospect in the second or third round at best. But with Palmer nearing the end of the line one way or the other, it might well be time for the Cards to take a flyer on a mid round QB, both preparation for the future and as insurance for the present.

Arizona Cardinals 2015: Carson Palmer,Larry Fitzgerald, Bruce Arians

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The Arizona Cardinals are coming off their best season in years and also one of the most surreal quarterback situations in league history. Their strong regular season went to waste when they entered the playoffs with a benchwarmer at QB who couldn’t take them anywhere. But with Carson Palmer back in the fold, and Larry Fitzgerald still in the building, head coach Bruce Arians must figure out how to keep such a situation from happening again so the Cards can become true contenders.

Even if the consecutive injuries to Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton can be written off as unlikely happenstance, the reality is that Stanton wasn’t entirely getting it done before he went down. And with Palmer now in his mid-thirties and coming off a severe injury, the team may need to look at investing in the future at the position, in the form of a mid round draft pick. But backup QB issues aside, the Cardinals have a strong roster and are in a prime position to compete. Decisions must be made on Larry Fitzgerald in terms of contract restructuring so he can remain a part of the team even as his role in the offense continues to become more secondary.

The fact that the Arizona Cardinals are stuck in the same division as regular contenders Seattle and San Francisco doesn’t help things. But the Cards showed last season that they could work around that simply by winning the games they needed to win. They just have to hope Carson Palmer stays in one piece in 2015.