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| Birth Name(s) : Carson Palmer |
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Full Carson Palmer Biography
Carson Palmer (born December 27, 1979 in Fresno, California), is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. 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 and signed a 9-year, $118.75 million contract extension on December 29, 2005. Palmer was the first Heisman Trophy winner since Vinny Testaverde in 1987 to be selected with the first pick of the NFL draft.
Carson Palmer's younger brother, Jordan Palmer, was a quarterback at the University of Texas-El Paso, and was drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.
Palmer attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School, where he tossed 71 touchdowns 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 Student Sports Grid-Hoops All-America second team after averaging ten points and eight rebounds per game.
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.
His major at USC was public policy and management at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. He was an honored member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at USC.
Carson Palmer did not play at all during his rookie season; veteran quarterback Jon Kitna, who signed with the Bengals as an unrestricted free agent in 2001, took every snap during the 2003 season. For his efforts, Jon Kitna was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Palmer, with Kitna mentoring him, watched and learned during games and in practices under head coach Marvin Lewis and quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese.
Even though the Bengals finished 8-8, their first non-losing season since 1996, Jon Kitna arguably knew that the Bengals were Carson Palmer's team in 2004. By and large, it was not viewed as a surprise when head coach Marvin Lewis named Palmer his starting quarterback in January, 2004.
Off the field, Palmer and Jon Kitna are best friends and golfing buddies. They also enjoy listening to CD's of the Christian Rock band "instereo" together. In 2004, Palmer organized the Carson Palmer Foundation Golf Classic to raise funds for Hillview Acres, a shelter for abused and underprivileged children.
Carson Palmer underwent reconstructive surgery on his injured knee in Houston, Texas on January 10, 2006. Dr. Lonnie Paulos, a surgeon who is independent of the Cincinnati Bengals, performed the operation. Initially, the Bengals organization stated that Palmer had torn the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments with no other damage. However, Dr. Paulos later told the Associated Press that the damage was more extensive and included a dislocation of the kneecap. Dr. Paulos called the injury "devastating and potentially career-ending", which drew a derisive comment from Palmer that implied Paulos simply liked to see his name in print. The Bengals later accepted Dr. Paulos' account , however, Carson Palmer promised he'd be at quarterback in the Bengals' regular season opener at Kansas City on September 10, 2006.
His performance drew rave reviews from many experts, many of whom expected far less of him less than a year after such a serious injury. ESPN announcer Joe Theismann, himself a former quarterback with the Washington Redskins, praised Carson Palmer for his mental toughness in taking hits and not being gun-shy about staying in the pocket where chances of injury are often high.
In the season opener on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens, Palmer went 20 for 32 with 194 yards and two touchdowns. Palmer and the Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-20. He followed up this performance with 33 completions for 401 passing yards and a franchise record 6 touchdown passes the next week in a game against Cleveland Browns. But even so, his team lost the game 51-45. Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson also threw for at least five touchdown passes in the game. It was only the third time in NFL history that two quarterbacks had thrown at least five touchdown passes in the same game. In the loss to the Seattle Seahawks, 21-24, Palmer went 27 for 43 for 342 yards for a touchdown, but also threw two interceptions. |
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