Stalemate!

If you're following the news, you know that we are in the midst of a stalemate. The two sides have spent years trying to make it work and, yes, there have been some good times but it has now become clear that something really has to change. We can't go on with the status quo because no one is happy.

I am, of course, talking about the Cincinnati Bengals and Carson Palmer.

Palmer has indicated he has played his last down with Bengals. He would rather retire than continue to play with the perennially dysfunctional Bengals.

Yesterday on Jim Rome is Burning, the topic was discussed as to what the Bengals should do about his trade request. Jim Rome said this:

And one more thing, you're not rewarding the guy, you're doing what's best for the franchise. The guy's not going to play. You better get something for him... something is still more than nothing. It's not a reward, it's doing what's right for the team.

Is he right? I can definitively say "maybe".

Here in the Detroit-area, one hears this story and one immediate thinks back to the surprise early retirement of Barry Sanders in 1999. Would Barry Sanders have played for another team if the Lions had been willing to trade him? I don't know for sure. I just think it was, more or less, out of the question. I actually was not living in Michigan at the time so I am not the best source for what the local community was thinking, but I am guessing most were not in favor of trading the very much still elite-level running back. Keep him and hope he's bluffing. That would have been my thought. (Of course, it turned out he was not. It's likely the only reason why Emmitt Smith is the NFL's all-time leading rusher.)

Now, let's be clear, Carson Palmer is no Barry Sanders. So maybe, if I were a Bengal fan, I could support trading him. Honestly, I would want to know what kind of return you could get for him before deciding whether it was worth trading him. It has been reported today that Donovan McNabb is being traded from the Redskins to the Vikings for two future 6th round picks. If that is the value of McNabb, what is the trade value of Carson Palmer?

Palmer, without question, is still a solid starting quarterback. But is he worth the value he is owed on his contract? He is owed $11.5 million for the upcoming season. I'm not saying he is not, I am just saying that contracts mean a lot when it comes to determining trade value; just because he threw 26 TD passes last season, it doesn't necessarily follow that the Bengals would be getting a great haul of future picks for the disgruntled quarterback.

So, to conclude, as a completely impartial observer, I would say if you can get meaningful value for him (say at the very least one 3rd round pick), I'd want the Bengals to trade him. If he was only worth a 4th round pick (which, you may recall, was what the Oakland Raiders got for Randy Moss), I'd let him sit.