SAD NEWS AS KEY PLAYER SAYS HE WILL NEVER PLAY FOR THE CINCINNATI BENGALS AGAIN DUE TO...

The NFL offseason of 2011 has certainly been one of the more memorable ones.

Plaxico Burress has returned, “the Tebow thing,” the Eagles’ signing of basically all of the top-notch free agents—oh yeah, and that whole lockout ordeal.

Amongst all that was Carson Palmer’s ultimatum to the Cincinnati Bengals: trade me, or I retire.

Bengals’ owner Mike Brown refused to budge, and Palmer has since retired, as promised.

There is already speculation about if he’ll return and where he will land. I’ve created my own response to the rumors and discussion.

He will not in 2012—or in any other year—be a Cincinnati Bengal

First and foremost, the reason there’s a new breed in the first place is due to this whole Palmer thing—I understand that.

Be that as it may, Andy Dalton is in the Queen City to stay. It may take him a couple years to be a good NFL quarterback, but he’s definitely got the tools to be a Pro Bowl player.

With Palmer already being replaced, his return would lead him to simply be on the bench with his brother, Jordan. Say what you want about Palmer, but that will not be acceptable at all.

Dalton knows that he is the new leader of this football team. Even Palmer coming back for nothing at all wouldn’t change that.

Mike Brown is the worst owner in the NFL.

Now that we’ve established that, there’s no doubt in my mind that he will never welcome back Carson Palmer.

I don’t agree with him on much, but on this one, that’s a foregone conclusion. Palmer has come out and publicly insulted the team, head coach Marvin Lewis and of course, Mike Brown.

At this point, bringing Palmer back would ultimately make him God to this team. I say this because if he knows he can get away with insulting the people that pay him and put him in the game, then what can’t he get away with? If Brown were to ever bring Palmer back to Cincinnati, the former USC Trojan would have an ego six times the size of Chad Ochocinco’s.

Brown isn’t a bright man, but he’s smart enough to recognize this. Look at the history…

Past Players Made the Same Demands

Over the years, countless players have tried Palmer’s cowardly way out.

Boomer Esiason, Corey Dillon and even Chad Ochocinco whined for a trade back in 2007 and 2008.

The common denominator? They didn’t get their wish (Dillon was eventually traded, but only after the emergence of Rudi Johnson).

Mike Brown has been the owner since 1991, and over his 20 years (a painful 20 years at that), the “trade me or I retire” act has been worn out.

What I admire about Brown—and it is one of the only things—is how firm in his ways he has been. If you let one guy get traded because he demanded it, then the rest of them follow suit.

Given Brown’s stern behavior, Palmer definitely won’t want to come back to bow down to him.

His Supporting Cast Have All Departed as Well

For the most part, Palmer’s team that surrounded him in Cincinnati are all gone.

Chad Ochocinco has gone to the Patriots, T.J. Houshmandzadeh has been with two teams in the last three seasons, Levi Jones and Eric Steinbach left the offensive line; so on and so forth.

Ultimately, an entirely new, young team has stepped on the field and the better majority of them didn’t play with Palmer all that long.

Cedric Benson conducted an interview on Sirius Radio back in May, and according to The Cincinnati Enquirer, he said, “I love Carson Palmer to death. He’s supported me and taught me a lot but I think when a guy expresses himself as strongly as he has it’s almost not healthy for the team to bring him back.”

Yes, Benson said he loves Palmer, but I don’t consider him part of Palmer’s supporting cast that have left the team. At this point, his best fan in Cincinnati is his brother, Jordan Palmer.