Miami Herald's Armando Salguero wrote on Wednesday that the Miami Dolphins were interested in trading for Carson Palmer when the lockout ends and that the Bengals may be "inching toward the idea of trading Palmer." We have no doubt that the Dolphins are interested in Palmer, who would probably be a decent upgrade over Chad Henne, who is the only quarterback signed through the 2011 season -- Chad Pennington and Tyler Thigpen are free agents and Tom Brandstater signed a futures contract in early January.
But Salguero's claim that the Bengals are inching closer towards trading Palmer? And Dan Marino's opinion that the Dolphins shouldn't trade more than a third round pick for Palmer? That's the line in the sand that no reasonable person is willing to support.
Take Bengals.com author Geoff Hobson, who takes Marino's suggestion and writes that " they should take a drug test. Mike Brown giving up Palmer for only a third-rounder? Never happen. Brown giving up Palmer period? Maybe less than never."
As for the Bengals inching closer towards trading Palmer, he writes:
Three weeks ago at the NFL meetings, Brown insisted he’s not trading Palmer. Nothing has happened since then to indicate anything has changed. This isn’t an owner who checks in on his team every once in awhile. This isn’t a GM saying it. Or even an unnamed Bengals official.
It was the day-to-day CEO of the club saying it three weeks ago in a New Orleans hotel room and putting his name to it. No trade. And this is where Brown should never get underestimated. If you back him into a corner publicly on any issue, you’re going to have a long wait. Some might call him stubborn. But most tough, principled and smart people are. You’d call Palmer that, too. But his trade request died the moment it saw the light of day.
Without Salguero suggesting that the Bengals could be willing to trade Palmer, much like his trade request, this story doesn't see the light of day. Unfortunately, save for the upcoming NFL Draft, Palmer updates remain our biggest offseason story. And theorizing beat writers are included in the mix.