There's some speculation that the Cincinnati Bengals could elect to go with two quarterbacks this year, promoted mostly after Cincinnati's 24-13 Thursday night win over the Carolina Panthers. Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton took every first half snap while his backup, veteran free agent signing Bruce Gradkowski, finished the game by taking every second half snap.
"We’ve always kept three since I’ve been here. Keeping two would indicate a numbers at a position. You want to lay. You want to compete and preseason is the time for the non-starters to do that. But because of the situation, a young quarterback and two new guys, those are the cards that are dealt and I’ll try to make the best of it."
If the Bengals take three, based on the fact Jordan Palmer hasn't taken a snap in consecutive games against the Jets and Panthers, it appears that the Bengals favor Dan LeFevour. Though that argument seems to be a stretch at best.
LeFevour, fan favorite, played one series against the Detroit Lions, handing off twice and completing a seven-yard pass out of the backfield to running back Jonathan Williams. The Bengals allowed LeFevour the entire fourth quarter against the Jets, which was a rain-soaked Sunday evening, going three-and-out during consecutive possessions. It wasn't until his fourth possession (third against the New York Jets) that a LeFevour pass picked up a first down.
That being said, it's far more than what Jordan Palmer has done, considering his only action this preseason came during the first game of the year, completing one of four passes, including an interception.
The idea of only keeping two quarterbacks is based on other positions. Perhaps the team wants to keep Cedric Peerman as the fourth running back, or Colin Cochart as the fourth tight end, they'll have to free that position up elsewhere. And it comes down to an injury, the team can always sign someone off the street; it's not like they won't be able to re-sign LeFevour or Palmer or god-forbid someone better.