CBSSports.com's Clark Judge wrote last week that an unnamed General Manager said that Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis "knows Palmer won't play for him again". This comes after a report that Bengals coaches were visiting Palmer's California home in the weeks leading up to the report, trying to convince him to return. Well, we assume they tried to convince him to return. For all we know, they could have had a meaningless dinner at a local steakhouse during a moderate weather event while Palmer introduced Lewis to all of the local celebrities that just happened to be in the resturant at the same time.
Regardless, Sports Illlustrated's Peter King confirms Judge's report.
I've heard Marvin Lewis is acknowledging to people he knows in football that Palmer won't be back in Cincinnati, and the Bengals are looking into all of the top quarterback prospects. "Marvin knows how stubborn Carson is, and he thinks no matter what happens, the guy won't change his mind,'' said one club executive. I believe that. But that doesn't mean the Bengals will deal him either.
The question is, if the NFL Draft passes and the Bengals were unable to trade Palmer due to the labor dispute with owners to acquire picks this year, wouldn't it be in the Bengals interest to hold onto the rights for Carson Palmer? Teams will undoubtedly address their quarterback situation during this year's NFL Draft and by doing so, it removes the necessity to deal for a quarterback that will command at least a first round draft pick; whatever Palmer's worth, Mike Brown will want a first round pick.
Wait until there's a ridiculous overreaction to an injury on a team that's expected to make the playoffs and the Bengals could acquire more value than Palmer's really worth for next year's NFL Draft. The draft deadline is typically the sixth week of the regular season.