In November 2014, quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL which ended his season. Now just days away from his 36th birthday, many wondered how he would rebound in 2015. At his age, would he be able to have another successful year or would the injury be too much for the veteran to overcome?
Palmer has proved many of the doubters wrong, posting a 107.2 passer rating through Week 14, which is the second highest among all quarterbacks. He's thrown 31 touchdowns this season, one shy of his career best set in 2005, for 4,003 yards.
"It was a long offseason, a ton of work and a ton of strengthening, getting all the fundamentals back and really just a lot of work," Palmer said during a conference call with the Philadelphia media leading up to tonight's showdown. "It's still a work in progress. I'm still doing rehab stuff. I'm still working out to get all the muscles around the knee to protect the knee strong. Really I just attribute it to a ton, a ton of work."
Many have drawn the comparison between Palmer and Sam Bradford because of the specific injury both quarterbacks suffered. While Palmer said he hadn't talked with Bradford, he has talked with a number of other players in the league, giving advice on how to rehab.
"It really seems like the last two or three years there has been so many ACL tears and I don't know how, but guys get my number through agents or whatever and just call and ask questions about who to rehab with and who should do the surgery and things like that," Palmer explained. "Not necessarily quarterbacks, really just every position you could think of."
Palmer's best piece of advice for those who have gone through this injury is to find the right physical therapist.
"I think the most important thing is finding the right person to rehab with. It's not so important that you pick the right doctor because there are a lot of good doctors and they all pretty much do the same thing," Palmer said. "Finding the right physical therapist that knows how to push your buttons and get the most out of you and make sure that they really push you. It's something that a lot of people take a lot of time with and really kind of baby, but I think it's really important to get pushed. You'll know when you're going too hard. Your knee will tell you."
To hear the quarterback's full conference call, click here or press play on the video player above.