Considering Palmer’s legacy
Eight years ago, the Bengals picked Palmer No. 1 overall. Was it the right move? I say yes — he was the top-rated quarterback in his class, and the Bengals needed a franchise cornerstone. However, Palmer clearly hasn’t been the best player out of the ’03 class. Raiders CB are among the current standouts from this class, with Gates, Johnson and Polamalu at the top of the list. In fact, it can be argued that Palmer hasn’t been the best quarterback from ’03, with Tony Romo(notes), who went undrafted out of Eastern Illinois in ’03, emerging as an above-average starter for Dallas.
Also, Palmer isn’t the top quarterback in Bengals franchise history. Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason outrank him, and neither was a first-round pick.
Of course, Palmer has an important place in club lore, and his play earlier in his career was very impressive. Don’t forget that the best Palmer-led teams could put Pittsburgh and Baltimore on their heels like few other clubs. With Ochocinco, the late Henry and T.J. Houshmandzadeh(notes), Palmer had a talented three-WR tandem to work with as his career began to take off in ’05. Henry never lived up to the promise he showed as a rookie in ’05, but Ochocinco and Houshmandzadeh formed a strong tandem for the majority of Palmer’s Bengals career.
The ’05 Cincinnati Bengals’ championship hopes went south when Carson Palmer got hurt against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
(Getty Images)
So what is Palmer’s Bengals legacy? There is good and bad and the in-between. He was the right pick at the right time for Cincinnati. He was brilliant early, but not as much so in his later years. He had rotten injury luck. He worked hard to return from some significant injuries. He quarterbacked the Bengals to two playoff appearances and had them on the doorstep of another. Nevertheless, the club still hasn’t won a playoff game since the 1990 postseason.
Now, he wants out.
“Because of the lack of success that Carson and the Bengals have experienced together,” Palmer’s agent, David Dunn, said in a statement released in January, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer, “Carson strongly feels that a separation between him and the Bengals would be in the best interest of both parties.”
Dunn’s statement noted that Palmer “could not 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.”
This is important. The Bengals have not treated Carson Palmer shabbily. I’m not seeing it. He has been compensated well. His supporting cast was solid on the whole and strong when he played his best. There have been better situations for a quarterback, but there have been worse ones.
It is Palmer’s prerogative to try and force the Bengals’ hand. But to point fingers and say “Same old Bengals” is to miss the point. Until now, Palmer had done well by the Bengals and the Bengals have done well by him. The Bengals can be an easy target, but not here.
In April, Cincinnati drafted TCU QB Andy Dalton(notes) in Round 2, and he likely will start if Palmer doesn’t return. This is intriguing but not ideal for the Bengals. However, unless Palmer changes his mind, the Bengals probably have to turn to Dalton.
Indeed, how we remember Palmer might come down to whether the Bengals can trade him and use the assets to rebuild. So in the end, it all comes back to the Bengals’ next move. Do they trade Palmer, or do they stand pat and send a message that they won’t be held hostage by any one player?
All we know is this wasn’t the ending anyone wanted when the Bengals drafted Palmer, then signed him to that huge contract, one that runs until he is 35, a little more than 3½ years from now.