A few days ago, Carson Palmer was signed to a 3-year, $50 million ($20 million) contract extension. It turns out the Cardinals won’t get much in return from this investment, at least not this year. In his first game after receiving that $50 million extension, Palmer suffered a knee injury that appears to be an ACL tear, pending confirmation from a doctor.

If Palmer did in fact tear his ACL, he will miss the remainder of this season. This appears to be a heavy blow for the Cardinals, who have the best record in the league at 8 – 1 and are poised to make a deep playoff run. Can the Cardinals continue to succeed with backup quarterback Drew Stanton under center?

Stanton is an obvious downgrade from Palmer, but he was good enough to take the lead away from the Rams with a 48-yard bomb to rookie John Brown. The Stanton-led Cardinals took that lead and never looked back, ended the game with a score more than double what the Rams’ finished with. Arizona won the game 31 – 14.

Although the Cardinals have a reputation as a defensive powerhouse, there are few places where Stanton could find himself in terms of his supporting cast on offensive. Lifetime Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald is a future Hall of Famer, fellow receiver Michael Floyd is one of the league’s best deep threats, and 2^nd-year running back Andre Ellington is excellent as both a runner and a receiver. Stanton has everything he need to succeed.