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Arizona Cardinals

That changed on Wednesday, when the team did just that; Palmer was officially ruled out this week.

As Associated Press sports writer Bob Baum suggests, the loss of Palmer will be another blow to an Arizona team that has stumbled to a 1-3 start after opening the season with the highest of expectations.

Palmer's head slammed to the turf on a sack by Aaron Donald late in the Cardinals' 17-13 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

With Palmer out, the job falls to Drew Stanton, who re-signed this offseason to return as the Cardinals' backup.

Arians reiterated his confidence in Stanton, who he brought to Arizona after their year together in Indianapolis in 2012.

"He's beaten this team before, the 49ers," Arians said. "Everybody has a ton of confidence in Drew."

Stanton led Arizona to a 23-14 win over San Francisco in Week 3 in 2014.

Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is reminded of how Stanton filled in for Palmer in 2014.

"Drew did a nice job of coming in and winning," Fitzgerald said. "We have to keep playing. We have to keep fighting. If Drew is playing in San Francisco -- and we don't know what the scenario is going to be -- but we're going to be prepared. ..."

In a related note. ... Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported on Monday that the Cardinals would promote quarterbackZac Dysert from the practice squad. Dysert signed to the Cardinals practice squad after spending the summer with the Dolphins. He's also been a member of the Bills, Texans and Broncos since Denver drafted him in the seventh round of the 2013 draft, but has never appeared in a regular season game.

Dysert will be the man behind Stanton with Palmer out this week.

In addition, Chris Johnson left the Sunday game against the Rams in the fourth quarter when he sustained a groin injury after a 7-yard gain. He could barely walk off the field under his own power, and after the game, he needed a security guard to drive him to his car in the players' parking lot.

On Tuesday the Cardinals announced they had placed Johnson on injured reserve. He'll miss at least eight weeks.

Arians on Monday said Andre Ellington would take any snaps Johnson would have received when the Cardinals return to action Thursday night at the 49ers. The team also re-signed RB Kerwynn Williams on Monday. ...

Safety Tyvon Branch (groin), tight end Darren Fells (shoulder), defensive tackle Ed Stinson (toe) and defensive lineman Josh Mauro (chest) also did not participate in Monday's practice.

Meanwhile, as ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss noted, Michael Floyd and John Brown re-emerged as factors in the Cardinals' offense against the Rams.

While Floyd was finding his way again, Brown was reintroduced to the offense. He had 144 yards on 10 catches after entering Sunday's game with games of 8, 14 and 70 yards.

But they were just minor bright spots in an otherwise unproductive offense. Palmer was sacked three times, threw one interception and barely escaped another.

At times, though, it wasn't just the on-field play that caused the offense to slow. A holding penalty by tight endJermaine Gresham early in the second quarter erased a touchdown run by Chris Johnson. Arizona settled for a field goal.

But at times, the Cardinals' offense simply just struggled, such as when it failed to get a touchdown from the Rams' 4-yard line late in the third quarter. Arizona settled for a field goal.

Indeed, after leading the NFL in several major categories last season, Arizona's offense has begun this season in a malaise. Through four games, all 10 of Palmer's first-quarter drives have resulted in punts, putting the defense behind the eight-ball.

As NFL.com's Chris Wesseling suggests, rather than using the run and the short passing game to set up downfield strikes, the Cardinals have been forcing the deep ball in inopportune situations.

David Johnson rushed for 83 yards on 17 carries an average of 4.9 yards per run but the Cardinals abandoned the ground game after proving it was effective and was starting to wear down the Rams' defensive front.

Johnson also lost his first fumble of the season, a critical error in the fourth quarter that killed Arizona's opportunity to run some time off the clock.