Cardinals QB Carson Palmer on retirement: 'I just know'

— -- After 14 seasons in the NFL, quarterback Carson Palmer said he will retire

Palmer, who spent the past five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, said he "just know[s]" its time for him to hang the up.

"For me that time is now. Why? Quite simply, I just know," Palmer said in a statement. "For 15 years I have been lucky enough to play quarterback in the NFL and it has been the most incredible experience of my life. There wasn't one second that I took it for granted or failed to appreciate what a tremendous privilege it is. ... And like most things in life, it feels like it all passed in the blink of an eye. In the end, it's not what happens on the football field that sticks with you. Those are details that I know fade with time.?What I will never forget are the relationships."

Palmer, 38, was signed for next season at a base salary of $12.5 million. He was due to receive a $1.5 million roster bonus on April 1.

Palmer spent the past five seasons in Arizona and retires owning the franchise records for passing yards (4,671) and passing touchdowns (35) in a season. He set both those marks in the 2015 season, when the Cardinals went 13-3 and won the NFC West title. However that postseason ended with a loss in the NFC Championship game.

After wining the Heisman Trophy his senior year at USC, Palmer was drafted first overall in the 2003 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Palmer still holds the record for most completions in a season for the Bengals and led the team to two postseason appearances, the first of which, in 2005, ended a playoff drought that extended back to 1991.

After seven season in Cincinnati, Palmer was traded to the Oakland Raiders, after two uninspiring seasons there he was dealt to the Cardinals for the start of the 2013 season.