On Monday a report surfaced that the Miami Dolphins were interested in Palmer (so are the Cardinals, Seahawks, 49ers to name a few). The Minnesota Vikings have surfaced as another team interested. During the league meetings in New Orleans, the Cincinnati Enquirer's Joe Reedy truly became the extension of the fans. Asked why the Bengals wouldn't trade "an angry Carson Palmer and get value" for him, Mike Brown said, "I don't see any opportunity to get what I consider to be value."
My quest to be credentialed by this team is coming to an end. This man actually has a functioning part of the brain that spewed those exact words. Not unlike the area of the brain that thought swimming through a tank full of sharks with lasers would be "kinda cool, bro" as teenagers. Reedy asked Brown if his stance on Palmer has changed.
“That part of it is still the same. I didn’t say anything inconsistent with that. I want him back and I will just leave it at that. I haven’t talked to any other team about him and I have no plans to trade him.”
Brown continued saying that "Carson is our principle option".
We don't know how that is going to end up," Brown said. "It's a very big question to be answered. If answered right, our chances will be pretty good. We'll try to get it answered right…I hope he comes back and plays the way he can play. I think he's a top quarterback. I haven't talked to any other team about him and I have no plans to trade him."
Pissed off quarterback. Check. Quarterback demands a trade. Check. Quarterback threatens retirement. Check. Several teams are known to have interest for the quarterback. Check. Teams would give the Bengals something for Palmer. Check. Bengals would get something in return for a pissed off quarterback that's threatening retirement. Check. This is how forward thinking minds work.
In Mike Brown's world, it sounds like this. "Blah, blah, blah, blah... Oh, the ducks are returning! Katie, Katie, Katie. Ducks! Look. Yes. Ducks!" So not getting credentialed. Please, Katie. We'll accept you. You're the lesser of two evils, the Presidential candidate that won't disrupt our little worlds too much. Help us. We'll help you. We're a hardcore fanbase. We'll return with the impact of a five-mile wide asteroid. Just give us something to come back to.
The biggest wonder in Brown's statements is obviously over-inflating Palmer's value. "As far as getting value," Brown said, "I don't see any opportunity to get what I consider value and having said that, it doesn't make any sense to look to trade." What. No team has a second or a third round pick? I've always liked Palmer, but let's face it. Palmer is, at best, nothing more than a middle-of-the-road quarterback now. Sure, he could return to become an elite-class quarterback. But it won't be with the Bengals. He said it himself. Multiple times. Well, he hasn't actually said anything.
When Chris Mortensen announced to the NFL world during the conference championship weekend last year that Carson Palmer demanded a trade or he'd play the "retirement card", Bengals president Mike Brown scoffed. Aside from variously unsubstantiated updates from high profile NFL insiders, the two sides have remained steadfast since Palmer's reported demand late January. Absolutely nothing has changed, even the so-called sources speaking on Palmer's behalf. A stalemate. The trenches of World War I are dug and the chess pieces are set. Your move, the opponent says with a sneer.
Mike Brown won't be taken hostage by a player's demands, as if that's somehow shocking after Chad Ochocinco's episode several years ago. Brown, so bullheadedly stubborn that he doesn't see the negative impact his decisions make, even turned down a trade offer to the Washington Redskins that would have given the Bengals a first round draft pick and a conditional third rounder (that could have become a second first rounder depending on Chad's performance that year). Yes, we were just as angry as we are about Palmer now. Marvin Lewis? Already admitted that he doesn't see Palmer returning. And for his part, quarterback Carson Palmer, tired of the losing and more specifically the way things are run in the organization, feels at peace with his decision to demand a trade or retire.
This is one of those times where I'm just as pissed off as Carson Palmer right now.