Bengals Owner Tell Carson Palmer: Have a Nice Retirement!

Mike Brown, the owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, is putting his foot down when it comes to his very disgruntled quarterback, Carson Palmer.

“Carson signed a contract. He made a commitment. He gave his word,” Brown said. “We relied on his word. We relied on his commitment. We expected him to perform here. He’s going to walk away from his commitment. We aren’t going to reward him for doing it.”

Brown is talking about the highly public demand that Carson Palmer made earlier this year to be traded or released.  In January, news broke that Palmer had met with Brown and expressed disappointment over how the Bengals had performed that season, and in the prior seasons with Palmer as its quarterback.  At the end of the meeting, Palmer told Brown that he wished to be released from his contract or traded.  He has made it highly clear that he would not play for the Bengals again.

With the chaotic situation following the end of the NFL lockout, and teams scrambling to sign free agents and make the necessary trades, one would think that Carson Palmer would fetch as much or more in free agency than any other quarterback out there.

Certainly, the Bengals seem to believe that Palmer won't return to Cincinnati, as they drafted TCU quarterback, Andy Dalton, in the second round of this year's draft.

There is a precedent for this contentious situation for Brown and the Bengals.  Following the end of the 1991 season where the team went 3-13, Boomer Esiason requested a trade.  While Brown didn't let him go at that time, they drafted David Klingler at the following NFL draft.  Esiason played one more season while Klingler learned on the sideline, and at the end of the 1992 season the Bengals did trade Esiason.

It's quite possible that Palmer has gone about this in a way that has simply ticked Brown off so much that he's quite willing to forego any benefit that trading Palmer would bring.  After all, if Brown were that eager to build the team in any way possible, the Bengals would be a lot better than they have been since Brown has owned the team.

Palmer clearly doesn't need the money.  In 2005, he signed a contract extension that added six years to his deal that doesn't end until after the 2014 season.  Although he's walking away from more than $30 million dollars in guaranteed money, Palmer reportedly stated to a friend earlier in the  year that he has $80 million in the bank.