Has the Time Come to trade Carson Palmer?

I have been a huge fan of Carson Palmer, and really wanted to see him succeed here.  I really thought that this year we would see a return of the quarterback that lead the Bengal’s to a playoff at the end of 2005.  With better weapons to throw to and an offensive line with a year of playing together, I thought Carson would be the man to ensure this team would score more than 24 points a game.  If you coupled that with a defense that was expected to be in the top 10 again, one could reasonably assume that the Bengal’s would win more than they would lose.

This has not happened.  Carson has lost his accuracy. I was at the game this last Sunday, and I was amazed at how bad he is now at throwing on the move.  He also fails to see the field around him, thus he often misses players that are open or facing single coverage.  I do not lay this all at his feet, but lets face it, the Quarterback is the face of the team, and so he in the end is responsible.

I think Carson could still be a good quarterback (not a great quarterback), but not as a Bengal, so I put forth the question, should the Bengal’s trade Carson Palmer during the upcoming off-season?

I think there are four teams where the Bengal’s could have legitimate trade partners.

1)      Seattle – Carson’s former college coach Pete Carroll is now the head coach of the Seahawks.  The current QB, Matt Hasselbeck, is definitely on the downside of his career, and Carroll could believe that he is one solid quarterback away from competing in a really weak NFC West.  Carroll like all head coaches believes he can succeed where others have failed, and I could see him thinking he can reclaim Palmer’s career.

2)      San Francisco – Cincinnati is not the only disappointing team this year.  San Francisco is just as big a disappointment as the Bengal’s.  San Francisco is going to have a new coach next year, but they will need a new quarterback.  Alex Smith has proven that he is not a starting quarterback, and a new coaching staff could believe that their very talented team is a quarterback away from competing in a really weak NFC West. 

3)      Arizona – Yes, I do think the NFC West is the best option for trading Carson Palmer.  Arizona has no quarterback right now and yet they are still competitive a really weak NFC West (are we sensing a theme?).  Arizona could decide to roll the dice and see if they can capture lightning in the bottle twice and reclaim the career of an older quarterback who had once been great. 

4)      Minnesota – The Vikings think they are on the verge of a Super Bowl, this year’s record not withstanding, and they are not going to want to take a huge step back when Farve leaves this off-season.  The Vikings are going to want a quarterback who can throw to Rice, Moss, Shiancoe, and Harvin, and I don’t think the new coach (yes Childress will be gone after this season) will have any trust in Tavaris Jackson.

Now the question is can the Bengal’s get enough back to make this a worthwhile trade?  Also what do you think would be enough compensation for the Bengal’s to trade the man who has been the face of the organization for the last 8 seasons? And knowing how difficult it is to find a good quarterback is it worthwhile to take a chance?

The Bengal’s went years between Boomer Esiason and Carson Palmer, and had to endure the play of many mediocre quarterbacks with small blips of hope in men like Jeff Blake and Jon Kitna, so ending the Palmer era is no small thing. 

I think we can safely say that the Marvin Lewis era is coming to an end, and so maybe changing quarterback and head coach is too big a change, and there are some who will argue to give Carson a chance under a new head coach and (hopefully) a new offensive coordinator.  Do you agree with this strategy, or do you think it is time for a clean sweep?

I am really interested in what people think.

Personally I’m for trading Carson if you can get a high second round pick.  This team has a number of needs, and three picks in the first two rounds of the draft would be very helpful.  I don’t think Carson can get it done here anymore, and that he would do better with a different team too. I know this will be a big risk, but you have to take a chance to succeed in this league.  I think it is now obvious that the Rams and Lions have passed the Bengal’s by, and the Browns could.  I think it is therefore really important that we move in a new direction with the quarterback situation, and get something for Palmer while we still can.

What do people think?