Report: Carson Palmer Didn't Tell Bengals President Mike Brown That He'd Retire If He Isn't Traded

Now that we have Carson Palmer's housing issues straightened in Cincinnati (thank god too, because I was losing too much sleep), another interesting update surfaced. According to the Mothership captain, Carson Palmer actually didn't give Mike Brown an ultimatum that he'd retire without being traded during the now-epic meeting on January 18 that Chris Mortensen reported during the Conference Championship weekend.

Geoff Hobson writes:

If he is serious about retirement, he didn't tell Bengals president Mike Brown that was an option when they met Jan. 18. That's when Brown told him they're not in position to trade him and that hasn't changed in the wake of a change at offensive coordinator.

Not that we'd believe Mike Brown would trade Palmer, even if he told the front office that they'd retire during the January 18 meeting. But if this is true, doesn't it makes sense why Brown would appear to be stubbornly pushing Palmer towards retirement? If the retirement angle didn't come out until after the meeting, through the press, of course it would take ownership by surprise. What team wouldn't be surprised? Especially the Bengals front office, who often appear to be so disconnected from the world, city, county and clients around him. Brown recently said:

"If I believed our personnel operation was substandard, believe me, I would address it."

Hah. We totally don't believe you.

David Dunn, Carson Palmer's agent, released a statement on January 24. Nowhere in the statement did the word retirement come up.

"Carson met with Bengals owner Mike Brown recently.  They both expressed profound disappointment in how the team fared last season, and in how it has generally performed during Carson's tenure with the team. Because of the lack of success that Carson and the Bengals have experienced together, Carson strongly feels that a separation between him and the Bengals would be in the best interest of both parties. Carson could no respect the Brown family any more than he does or be more appreciative of what the Browns have done for him and his wife Shaelyn and his family.

It would make sense that the team figures they can resolve the situation and get Palmer back into the fold, especially considering that after the quarterback demanded a trade, he reportedly didn't outline an alternative to use as leverage against the team. Retirement, trade or not, the Bengals expected Palmer here for the long-run so much so they've neglected backup and development quarterbacks? And yes, it appears that it can bite them.

Whatever happens from this point is all conjecture. Brown appears to be oblivious to everything around him and Carson Palmer isn't much into talking to people, even though he surprised the NFL and Bengals fans about a trade demand. And apparently he surprised the Bengals too.

Also, a side note: I know the Carson Palmer trade stories are getting old. Heck, I'm the one writing them -- of course I'd know that they're getting old. But since information and updates don't cater to our needs and desires, we have to keep trucking on like solders of the information highway