Carson Palmer inks new deal-highest paid in the league?
 

From Bengals.com


Palmer is now signed through 2014.

wow...good move for the bengals.

Unless he experiences a bad injury sometime in the next 8 years. That just seems like a crazy amount of time to risk on a contract.

Salary Cap hell. Palmer and 50 guys whose names who don't know, circa 2009.

I can live with a four year window, then a rebuild. The other big offenisve weapons are signed through 2009. The line needs to be addressed over the next year, though. This deal supposedly gives them flexibility in dealing with Anderson, Steinbach and Jones next season.

Not that I don't think Palmer is a great QB , as he's having a MVP like season this year.... but...

Isn't one good year a little early to make a guy the, or one of the highest paid players in the league?

Obviously the Bengals don't think so, but if he becomes the suck in the next year or two, theyre hurting.

NFL contract.


In other words, it's not as good a contract as Peyton's.

I think it's a great idea to lock the guy up long term, using part of the remaining cap for this year. If the deal is as flexible, as it says, then the bengals won't have cap problems.
R. Johnson,C. Johnson, Housh, and Palmer are now all signed through a minimum of 2009.

Actually, his MVP-type numbers started halfway through last season, so the body of work is a bit longer than just this year, if only by a few games. The point still stands, though.

But this is a franchise that was blatantly reactionary for years and is now being proactive with most of their young stars.

too early. too early.

chad pennington redux anyone?

kurt warner redux??

sure this guy has progressed amazingly and signs indicate he could very well be a great one...but to give him this kind of contract this early, for this long. Wow.

I guess it remains to be seen though, and it depends on how flexible the contract really is...

Well I agree, and as I said, he seems to be a great QB.. It just seems a tad premature since he was already working on a hefty #1 pick contract.

I understand for salary cap reasons, but I'd just feel a little more comfortable with the stardard it set if this was happening next year.

Cause now if Alex Smith has an awesome year next year, or Eli Manning is an even better example - they could argue with their teams they want a Palmer type deal.

There are reasons for doing it this early. One is the space they had under the cap this season. This deal allowed them to fit a good chunk of his new money under this year's cap as opposed to having to give it to him in a year or two. Basically, they were going to have to do it sooner or later, and they had the room now. So why not?

Another factor is the expiration after 2006 of contracts for 4/5 starting offensive linemen. At least three and hopefully four of them will probably get new contracts with up front money that will probably cost against the 06 cap. So once again, why not lock up your best player now and give yourselves room to take care of the rest next year?

I thought about giving some examples like that, but to be fair, Warner was like 32 when he had big numbers, and Pennington has been injured out the ying-yang. Though, Pennington still is a decent example.

touche about warner. but there are countless other examples. and they don't even have to be guys who signed big money deals and then faded. just look at guys who had a good year/two and then stunk.

then again it's really just play-money anyway in the future, so whatever.

Also you need to remember that NFL contracts are not guaranteed, so if he is making a good chunk of his money this year and next, they probbaly have some flexibility if his level of play curtails

ESPN.com now reporting the juicy details...

NFL contracts make almost as sense as string theory.

I think the ESPN article brings up a good point. Not only did the Bengals lock up a rising star in Palmer, but it sends a message that may be very important for the psychology of this team and aid in keeping guys like Johnson.

Great move, the Bengals might finally have a good thing going, this a) makes them look like a franchise that is serious about winning and b) doesn't allow any hint of contract controversy with their star player. Basically what Eaglesfan said.

Hey, I can understand the whole thing about Carson not being a fully established MVP type QB, but just watching him play will immediately tell you different. His demeanor, his ability to make adjustments, and his overall skill (Arm strength and accuracy, decent mobility and excellent pocket awareness, lack of fumble-itis) coupled with his surrounding cast are not far behind Peyton Manning. A little more polish and this star should shine brighter than most ever come close to.

And the guy has already proven his consistency- Just look at the number of games out of his last 20 or so that he has put up a 100 rating or better. I am not sure, but I think its somewhere around 15-16.

I think this signing, if it allows the Bengals to re-sign that OL and keep their offense together for the next 4 years or so, they could be setting new standards when its all said and done.

I'm happy.

You really do have to measure this deal with the franchise history in mind. This would have never happened before Marvin. Now he's signed all of his offensive skill players to long-term deals. Henry has three more years as well, so if they can get the line signed they will have the offense set for four years. That sends a message to the team and the fans that the franchise really has changed. There is no slide out of playoff contention for these Bengals.

I wish there was a long term award for NFL coaches. Nobody has done more for a franchise over the last three years as Marvin.

And now that my secret Santa Bengals shirt arrived in the right size I'm ready for the playoffs!!!

This eases one of my biggest fears...that a bigtime offensive player for the Bengals leaves early. I think given everything that's happened in Cincy, they had to take this 'chance" on a super-long-term deal. Hope it works out.

Go Bengals!

bump

at least in the short term I win. New contract + massive injury=bad news bears!!

my dad just said (dunno where he got it from) that it was an ACL+MCL tear...he'll be out for over a year

The Bengals are jinxed.

Its just the ACL and as long as surgery goes well he should be ready for training camp.

ESPN is now saying both ACL and MCL and I think CBS mentioned it as well.

Yup. He'll start the season on the PUP and should be good to go later in the season.

Carson's agent deserves a nice bonus this year. Looks like he gets about $30 million even if he never plays again. He just got a $15 million bonus, $6.75 million for next year's salary, and another bonus of $9 million next Jan. 1 which all seem to be guaranteed according to that ESPN article.

This is one of the reasons that the Steelers almost never sign players to extensions or new contracts during the season. Not saying that resigning players only during the offseason makes it any better if a player goes down with a major injury in the first preseason game, but it looks much better than signing him before he plays in a game where he gets injured.

Bengals are jinxed. But Palmer should be fine. Players are coming back from these kind of injuries more and more without much of a lingering affect. Look at Jamal Lewis. He tore his ACL (i believe that was his injury) and came back for a 2000 yard season. Though, Palmer might not play well right away once he does come back.

The usual deal for this type of injury is 1 year of not looking quite like themselves, then back to full strength in year 2 of their return.

But this is an injury that typically happens to running backs, who rely almost entirely on their legs. I wouldn't imagine that it would be as important for a drop back quarterback. Still going to be tough, but I see him coming back alright.

It's going to be difficult for him to put zip on the ball because he'll be hesitant to step into the throw and putting pressure on his knee.

Drew Olson, of UCLA, had this exact injury last year and he was able to recover and have a hell of a season

Also, they mentioned that it looked like it was a clean ACL tear which would be easier to repair...

This is typical of any team I have in FOF. I'll have a good QB and at the worst possible time the injury will hit.

We will now see if Palmer comes back next year and can't throw the ball to anyone but opposing cornerbacks. His bars must have dropped significantly. Cincinnati shold look into starting a rookie undrafted free agent next year.

I had this happen to my star runningback in his sixth season. His bars dropped to virtually nothing, but traditionally I'll retain the guys and give them the start just to let their performance bench them. This guy, with virtually no skills left after the injury, turned out six more thousand yards seasons and retired as the all-time leading rusher of my league with 13,000+ yards.