With all the quarterback talk for the Arizona Cardinals here on the blog, it can get almost hopeless thinking about next year. At least as my impressions go, I get the feeling that the overall public sentiment is to either pick up Marc Bulger or trade for Carson Palmer or Kevin Kolb. As for myself, I want Kolb. I know he is a bit of an unknown, but what I trust is the league by scouts and football people. I will admit that I never played the game, but when there is as much buzz about a guy as there is around the league, not just by fans, but by bona fide football people, I trust it.
At the same time, Carson Palmer could be a great fit. In fact, many here on the blog feel he is the best option. Obviously the lack of a CBA in place keeps players from being moved, so any trade becomes impossible for now. The latest about Carson Palmer coming out of Cincinnati is that he is pretty much not available.
We know the story. Palmer wants out. He is threatening retirement if he does not get moved. He reportedly has over $80 million in savings, so money is not the issue. It's sort of the Bizarro Jake Plummer story, who retired because he was traded.
The problem is that right now he can't be traded and it his owner does not look like he is going trade him. Mike Brown is known to be a stubborn man and does not take to player threats well (see Chad Ochocinco/Johnson, Corey Dillon, etc).
On Monday it came out from the official Twitter account of the Cincinnati Bengals. Mike Brown will not trade Carson Palmer.
Brown's own words were, "I want him back. I haven't talked to any other team about him. I have no plans to trade him."
When pressed about getting value for an angry Palmer, who obviously does not want to be in Cincinnati, his response was, "I don’t see any opportunity to get what I consider to be value."
However, the whole organization is not on the same page. Coach Marvin Lewis, according to Peter King, is accepting that Palmer won't be with the team (meaning he would retire). Palmer is described as a stubborn guy that won't change his mind.
While obviously things could change, but it points to yet another dead end for the Cardinals in their seeking a new quarterback option in 2011.