Everybody knows that the Bengals franchise quarterback, Carson Palmer, wants out of Cincinnati. He reportedly has told Bengals owner Mike Brown that he wants to be traded and if he isn't, he'll retire, leaving the team high and dry. Brown, in response, did exactly what everybody thought he would do, which was nothing other than say no to Palmer's trade request.
There are some people who believe that Palmer will be a Bengal next year and others who believe the Bengals need to take his demands seriously because he isn't bluffing.
I wrote earlier today that Peter King believes that Palmer will be lured back to Cincinnati in 2011 by a combination of Jay Gruden's newly implemented west coast offense and the Bengals parting ways with Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens. However, I also later wrote that Solomon Wilcots thinks that Palmer is in no way bluffing and will retire if he feels the Bengals won't trade him and they need to be proactive. Wilcots mentioned that the Bengals could trade their No. 4 overall pick for the Eagles' Kevin Kolb along with the Eagles' No. 25 overall pick and then trade Palmer to the Seahawks in exchange for their first-round pick (No. 23). That would leave the Bengals with two first-round picks and Kevin Kolb in place instead of Palmer.
While that seems great, everybody doesn't agree that the Bengals should look to the Eagles to make a trade. Former Bengals defensive lineman and current All Pro Blogger, John Thornton agrees that the Bengals need to be proactive but that trying to get Kolb isn't the direction that they should go.
In a short Twitter discussion, he told me he'd rather have Kyle Orton over Kolb.
@CincyJungle I'd want Orton over Kolb. Played in Chi so he's more of a AFCN type plus I think he's a underrated passer.
JohnThornton
JohnThornton
Okay. Let's run with this for a minute. Both Kolb and Orton lost their starting jobs in the 2010 season. Kolb lost his job to Michael Vick who is the future starter of the Eagles and Orton lost his job to Tim Tebow. We know that the Eagles are going to be sticking with Vick as their starter and that Kolb will likely be traded. When it comes to the Broncos ,though, things are less clear. The Broncos have a new head coach, John Fox, and their general manager, John Elway, has said that Orton will be the starter of the Denver Broncos. However, I have the feeling that's not necessarily written in stone like Vick is in Philly.
If the Bengals could strike up some sort of deal with Broncos that would send Palmer to Denver and send Orton to Cincinnati, would you (Bengals fans) welcome it?
In his last two seasons with the Broncos, Orton has thrown for 7,455 yards for 41 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. In his career in Philadelphia, Kolb has thrown for 2,082 yards for 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
This could create an interesting debate. Let's pretend for a minute that the Bengals are going to make a move and trade Palmer and they get the following offers: Kevin Kolb and the No. 25 overall pick (from Eagles for No. 4 overall pick) and the No. 23 overall pick (from the Seahawks for Carson Palmer) or the No. 2 overall pick and Kyle Orton from the Broncos (for Carson Palmer and No. 4 overall pick).
Which would you rather do?