Arizona’s Carson Palmer sees specialist about injured shoulder

Arizona Coach Bruce Arians said quarterback Carson Palmer was seeing another specialist Wednesday after his injured shoulder regressed following some throwing last week.

Arians said Palmer’s condition is “fairly close” to being back to what it was when he first hurt the shoulder in the season-opening win over San Diego.

If Palmer’s damaged nerve doesn’t improve in a hurry, backup Drew Stanton will get his third straight start when the Cardinals play at Denver on Sunday.

“He’s very frustrated, like we all would be,” Arians said. “He wants to play and is trying to find an answer.”

The Cardinals were hoping last week’s bye would provide Palmer with time to get his shoulder back in good health. Palmer thought last week that he was finally ready to throw again. He “threw a bunch” from 30 to 40 yards Thursday and Friday and felt no problem until afterward.

“Something swelled back around that nerve,” Arians said before Wednesday’s practice, “and it went back to sleep.”

Asked whether the injury had become a long-term concern, the coach said, “It’s still week to week.”

“If we thought it was long term,” Arians said, “we could always put him on IR with a chance to return, but we’re not even close to that yet.”

NFL, DirecTV extend deal

The NFL has extended its contract with satellite provider DirecTV to carry the “Sunday Ticket” package, which allows viewers to watch out-of-market games.

The deal expands DirecTV’s rights to stream the package live on mobile devices and online. The agreement is worth $12 billion over eight years — $1.5 billion annually, according to a person familiar with the contract.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the figures were not made public.

The previous deal was worth about $1 billion a year.

AT&T is in the process of acquiring DirecTV for $48.5 billion, making the expanded possibilities for mobile particularly attractive.

Etc.

The Minnesota Vikings have listed quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as questionable for their game at Green Bay on Thursday. … Panthers defensive end Frank Alexander has been suspended an additional 10 games after violating the league’s substance abuse policy again. The league made the announcement on Wednesday. Alexander was suspended May 2 for four games for violating the substance abuse policy. … The Jacksonville Jaguars have ruled out rookie receiver Marqise Lee for the third consecutive game. The second-round draft pick won’t play Sunday against Pittsburgh because of a strained right hamstring. … Rams Coach Jeff Fisher says that Austin Davis will be the team’s starting quarterback for the rest of the season. … Former NFL player Donald Reche Caldwell has pleaded guilty to drug charges in Florida. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reports that the former University of Florida wide receiver pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a positional isomer of butylone, also known as ethylone, and commonly marketed as the street drug “Molly.” Caldwell faces up to 20 years in federal prison. … Right tackle Donald Stephenson returned to the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday following his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.