The Conundrum of Carson Palmer

Only a few years back, Carson Palmer was sitting pretty in Cincinnati. He had his team on the brink of playing in the Super Bowl, which would have been their first since the Boomer Esiason era. The Bengals were playing for an AFC title against their division rival (and eventual champion that year) Pittsburgh Steelers, and Palmer was looking to blow the game open with a 66-yard bomb to then-rookie wide receiver Chris Henry.

But then he was hit low (albeit untentionally, according to the official NFL ruling) by Steelers defensive lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen, sustaining tears to multiple knee ligaments and provoking a rule change forbidding intentional contact with quarterbacks below the knees.

Even after he recovered from said injury, he came back with a vengeance in 2006 to throw for 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, becoming the first Bengals signal-caller to make two consecutive Pro Bowls since the aforementioned Esiason in 1988-1989. He capped off a great comeback year with Pro Bowl MVP honors. One may have thought he was poised for stardom, about to take his place amongst the league’s elite passers.

Since then Palmer has taken a tumble; 2005-2006 was the last season that he recorded a season total 2:1 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. While his play has been reasonably productive, the Bengals have only made the playoffs once since then: a one-and-done appearance in which Palmer completed 18 of 36 passes for a paltry 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception (posting a passer rating of 58.3). Some days, I thought Carson and his backup (younger brother Jordan Palmer) could have switched jerseys and no one would notice.

Apologies, that’s not really fair to at least one of the Palmer brothers. Jordan is more mobile than Carson.

Their ultimate capitulation occurred this past season, in which the Cincinnati club posted a 4-12 record and earned the fourth overall pick in the draft. In context, only the 2-14 Carolina Panthers held a worse record, but Denver and Buffalo also went 4-12 and pick ahead of the Bengals. Now Carson wants out, and is threatening to retire if the Bengals don’t trade him to another team.

The reasons for Palmer’s struggles throughout this period are varied, ranging from tragic to just plain puzzling. The unfortunate passing of Chris Henry, who was in the midst of a potential breakout season after a troubled early career, sent shockwaves through the Bengals offense. The addition of the 36 year-old Terrell Owens to accompany an already eccentric and aging Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson at wide receiver produced more highlights on their “TO & Ocho” television show than on the football field. A wildly inconsistent defensive unit (over the course of games and entire seasons) didn’t help matters even when the Bengals were winning, let alone when their offense began to lose productivity. It must also be noted that while the AFC North division is home to the equally lowly Cleveland Browns, it also holds the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, two perennial playoff contenders featuring top-ranking defensive units. None of these spell a recipe for success.

It seems little surprise, then, that Carson Palmer wants out of Cincinnati. Maybe he’s tired of having a different offensive line every year (or, perhaps worse, the same wideouts). He could also just not like getting clobbered by Pittsburgh and Baltimore year-in and year-out. Whatever the reason, he has threatened the organization with retirement, admitting that he has at least been frugal in his investments by saving 80 million dollars. There’s also the lingering possibility that he may retire and attempt to sign with another team in an imitation of Brett Favre. Whatever the case may be, the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, and a host of other teams would be likely to jump at the chance to sign Palmer, who can probably make a decent sales pitch if he just blames all of his problems on the Bengals.