COMMENTARY | Carson Palmer’s poor performance with the Cincinnati Bengals in recent years certainly brought the team down – both emotionally and statistically. When Palmer demanded to be traded, it was like adding salt to the wound. Clearly Palmer felt the team’s lack of success stemmed from the team and not from him. He would rather retire than play another season with the Bengals.
Mike Brown, the Bengal’s owner, called his bluff and allowed him to retire. The Bengals moved forward, hiring a new offensive coordinator in Jay Gruden and drafting rookie quarterback Andy Dalton out of TCU. Things have been looking up for the Bengals. With a team full of young talent, they have managed to win four games already in 2011, which was their win total in the full 2010 season with Palmer.
However as long as Palmer was still under contract with the Bengals, he was never really gone. He may have sold his home in Cincinnati and claimed retirement, but an interview with Brown or head coach Marvin Lewis never went by without a token question about Palmer. Questions were always met with the same response, that Palmer had retired. Yet one never really knew what might happen one day to the next. If Dalton began to falter, if Palmer saw the new life the team was breathing, might he have reconsidered another shot?
Since Palmer’s trade to the Oakland Raiders last week, the Bengals can once and for all put him, and the questions, to rest. Carson Palmer’s career with the Bengals is over. Dalton is firmly in place and there is now no chance of any surprise. This is his team now.
Palmer’s poor performance on Sunday only goes to strengthen the Bengals’ resolve. While he only had a few days to prepare, he should have been able to run the plays he knew. The three interceptions Palmer threw playing less than half of the game do not bode well for his future with the Raiders.
The Bengals didn’t lose much, if anything, when Palmer decided not to return. In fact the team seems clearly better off because of it. They have a winning record, young talent and some nice draft picks (thanks to the trade for Palmer) lined up for the future. It seems Palmer should have looked no further than his own mirror when considering what might be wrong with the Bengals. The Bengals are now free to move forward, unwanted baggage safe and secure in Oakland.