The narrative threads connecting Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and Mark Sanchez are privilege and talent. All three went to high school in Orange County and were highly-sought prospects MUT 24 Coins who started for Pete Carroll at USC. All three were top-ten picks in the Madden NFL 24 Draft.

Where they diverge — and intertwine — is injury and the resulting hardships of the Madden NFL 24. Palmer has twice suffered a catastrophic ACL tear. Leinart’s final game action in the Madden NFL 24 was replacing an injured Palmer for the Raiders in 2012. And Sanchez, who missed a year with a shoulder injury, is getting a second chance on a new team thanks to the starter’s broken clavicle — the same injury that derailed Leinart’s second chance. Sanchez may yet replace Palmer as the Cardinals’ starter, just to complete the ouroboros.

In a moderately dispassionate evaluation, Palmer’s decade of competent quarterbacking buoys the Trojan trio to “almost average,” while the headlines generated by the younger two guarantees a baseline of entertainment. Ultimately, though, I cannot recommend a USC quarterback for your pro team — unless the only other option is a Notre Dame alumnus.

Jim Harbaugh told me that 28 years ago in a one-on-one interview at Bicycle Jim’s Restaurant in Ann Arbor. He was at Michigan, I was covering Buy Madden 24 Coins and his team for the Detroit Free Press and we both fell under the allure and awe of then Michigan coach Bo Schembechler.