Palmer – Is his season over?

October 18, 2008   ·   Paul Raymond   ·   Jump to comments

We all know Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer won’t be playing this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and possibly next weeks game with the Houston Texans. But should Palmer take the rest of the season off, and get healthy? Cincinnati beat writers are definitely hinting at this, and even some of his fellow teammates are even recommending it.

Chick Ludwig at the Dayton Daily News, suggests the Bengals are close to placing the star quarterback on injured reserve. His reasoning is the signing of Jeff Rowe to the practice quad on Friday. Rowe was originally the Bengals 7th round draft pick in the 2007 draft, but was waived at the end of training camp. He’s been brought in to provide some insurance should anything happen to Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jordan Palmer. He says that with this signing you could see Palmer placed on the IR soon. While this is pretty much his only reasoning it has been brought up by others.

Andrew Hobson at the bengals.com also believes that the team should place Palmer on reserve and let him undergo surgery. Hobson’s reasoning is much like how I feel about the situation. It basically comes down to the Bengals are 0-6 with no chance at anything this season. If doctors say his elbow can become worse pending a direct hit or the increased throwing why not take the time off rest, and possibly have surgery to repair whatever. The Bengals do have a bye on November 9th. Afterward, the team goes against some serious competition, mainly the Steelers, Eagles and Ravens defenses. Why risk Palmers’ career against those guys, give him a break and get healthy for the 2009 season. His teammates are even jumping on board with the thinking.

“I think the issue with [Palmer] is a lot more serious than playing this year,” receiver Chad Ocho Cinco told ESPN. “We’re talking about his career in general. If it means sitting out this year or play another 20 or who knows how long he’ll be able to go, I think it’d be in his best interests to sit out.”

Ocho Cinco isn’t the only one going with the thinking. T.J. Houshmandzadeh is even going along with the thinking. “I would agree with that,” Houshmandzadeh said. “Whether that will happen, I’m not sure. Carson wants to play; he’s a veteran. But it would be the smart thing to do.”

Strangely enough head coach Marvin Lewis doesn’t agree. Mark Curnutte at the Cincinnati Enquirer, has a quote from Lewis about the whole Rowe signing, “We’re just trying to get somebody else snaps in practice and service the defense. We’ll let Carson rest this week and probably next week.” So Lewis is going the route of we need an extra arm in practice, nothing more.

I go along with Ludwig and Hobson, I feel Palmer should take the rest of the season off and get healthy. It kills me to say it as Carson Palmer is my starting QB in my key fantasy league, but oh well. That’s fantasy and this is real life, and Palmer needs rest if he wants a long productive career. With how bad the Bengals are this year, there is no need to risk his future.

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