Seems like a silly question right? He's been gone two years and hasn't been the preferred starter at quarterback for the Bengals for four years.  But consider this, over the past two years Marvin Lewis' biggest complaint about players has been "selfishness", something that Jon Kitna never was. Let's look at some facts.

Following the 2003 season Marvin Lewis declared that Palmer would be the starting quarterback despite the fact that Jon Kitna had just won NFL Comeback Player of the Year.  In 2004 Carson Palmer started the first thirteen games of the season and led the team to a 6-7 record.  During this time Kitna was entirely supportive of Carson Palmer as the starting quarterback - he was entirely unselfish and did what was in the best interest of the team.  This "best interest of the team" attitude continued throughout 2005 and the Bengals made their first playoff run in over a decade.  During the 2006 season the Bengals suffered a late season collapse and missed the playoffs by one game.  We all know about this last year where the team seemed to lack team unity and leadership.

During the two years that Kitna was the backup quarterback and consummate team player the overall Bengals record was 19-13 in the regular season, since he left the Bengals are 15-17.

That is a pretty small sample size and could easily be coincidence, but I wonder:  when Jon Kitna left during free agency was their a leadership void left on this team that hasn't been filled?

If the answer to that question is yes, then a second questions follows: How many games did it cost them?