Bengals franchise quarterback (should I stop saying "franchise"?) Carson Palmer plans on putting his $2 million Indian Hills home on the market, reports WCPO's Dennis Janson on Wednesday.
Some will suspect that this is just a power play. It's understandable too. Palmer's only leverage retirement. He sells his house, showing ownership that he's serious. He's not coming back. Chris Mortensen reaffirmed that, writing a tweet after the report that Palmer's intentions to leave Cincinnati are "strong: fresh start or retire."
We really don't know how this will pan out. Palmer's resolve appears to be solid enough that he'll purposefully keep blinders on, immune to anything that the team does because, in the end, he just wants out. Not even AFL superstar and new Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden could draw him out of hiding. Carson, you there? Hello?
Can you blame Palmer? No.
Should you blame him? It's not like he stood above reproach that faced the team. Were analysts turning to Palmer's support for his lack of performance on the field? No. They talked about his declining technique. Did analysts talk about poor play-calling by the offensive coordinator? No, they talked about poor decision making. Though in fairness to Palmer, the team didn't build a great supporting cast around the quarterback (notably the offensive line in pass protection) and the play calling scratched enough heads that exposed (not it removed) scalps.
As one wise once told me: It is what it is.