Carson Palmer is the man. He won't be replaced this year. Not next year. And not two years after the time that we think he should be. There's always the Mike Brown factor, who will likely keep Palmer long after his talents visibly start decaying. Remember, there's a difference between what Brown should do, and what he'd likely do. But this doesn't change the fact that the Bengals could literally retool the roster of quarterbacks that's rounded off with J.T. O'Sullivan and Jordan Palmer.
The idea that the Bengals could draft a quarterback to compete behind Palmer for the backup, or third-string job, isn't unexpected. Mike Brown was asked about drafting a quarterback on Monday, "Not to replace Carson, no. But what comes behind him is an annual issue. We have two guys who were with us last year. I thought they did well enough. I’m not going to say no, never on that one on making some change behind him."
I'm sure there's another Jeff Rowe out there. Anyone?
On April 13th, the Bengals will hold workouts for local players, like Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard, who already worked out for several coaches during University of Cincinnati's Pro Day. The Bengals will also host Dominic Randolph, a Holy Cross quarterback and Cincinnati native, on the same day.
A four-year starter at Holy Cross, Randolph finished his career with the Crusaders throwing for 13,455 yards, which ranks fourth all-time in Football Championship Subdivision history, 117 touchdowns and 46 interceptions in 43 games. At 6-foot-2, 224 pounds, Randolph wasn’t invited to the Scouting Combine, but participated in Boston College’s Pro Day on March 11th and had a solid performance throwing the ball. But he failed to show scouts his athleticism and wasn’t very explosive. Randolph was timed at a 4.99 in the 40, and recorded average numbers in the vertical jump (31.5) and broad jump (9’1”). He will try to improve his numbers at Massachusetts Pro Day on March 25th, where he’s expected to go through a full workout.