TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - The Arizona Cardinals won't have Carson Palmer when they face the San Francisco 49ers Thursday night.
Coach Bruce Arians said Wednesday the quarterback remains in the concussion protocol and has not been cleared to play. Arians said Palmer would not make the trip.
Backup Drew Stanton will make the 13th career start of his 10-year NFL career. He went 5-3 as a starter when Palmer went down with a season-ending knee injury in 2014.
Arians said he is "very optimistic" Palmer will be back for the Cardinals' next game, a Monday night contest against the New York Jets on Oct. 17.
“We love the game that we play and obviously you want to go out there and win and have everyone on the field," Cardinals wide receiver Larry Ffitzgerald said after the Cardinals' practice Tuesday, "but Carson is a man, he’s a husband, he’s a father, and we want him to be all right for his family."
What a concussion feels like
Former Cardinals cornerback Jay Taylor estimates he's had more than a dozen concussions in his career. He estimates because during his time in the NFL, there was no concussion protocol and the treatment for many concussions was to "shake it off."
"You got some smelling salts and got sent back in the game," Taylor said. "That’s if they noticed.”
Taylor said his typical concussion was not marked by headaches or dizziness. Only after the fact did he notice he didn't remember certain plays of the game.
Once, Taylor said, he was hit hard enough to spin his helmet sideways on his head. He doesn't remember that, or the following plays.
"They told me on the plane, 'Hey, that was so funny you had to straighten your facemask because of that,'" Taylor said.
Taylor applauded the decision to keep Palmer off the field Thursday, saying it's better to protect a player for the long term rather than try and win a single game.
"Understand, this is a game," Taylor said. "This is entertainment. This is not going to be life afterwards.”
