An oral history of Carson Palmer's trade from the Bengals

In part one of a two-part oral history on how Carson Palmer's demand for a trade led to the rejuvenation of the Cincinnati Bengals – and eventually Palmer's revival in Arizona – the principal players look back at the nine months between Palmer's demand for a trade and Andy Dalton's first start for the Bengals.

January 1, 2011

Andy Dalton caps his college career by leading Texas Christian University to a Rose Bowl victory over the University of Wisconsin, which featured guard Kevin Zeitler.

Dre Kirkpatrick also started at corner for Alabama in a 49-7 win over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl.

Jan. 17

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis promotes offensive coordinator Hue Jackson to head coach.

Jan. 23-24

Following a 4-12 campaign in 2010, ESPN reported that Bengals starting quarterback Carson Palmer had a meeting with Bengals owner Mike Brown to request for a separation from the team, coupled with a threat to retire if that demand was not met.

Carson Palmer: "It ended in a very colorful, heated argument. We disagree with each other. That's how it ended. Now's not the time or place to get into what he said, what she said, type of deal."

Mike Brown, in 2011: "He was told that we are not in a position to trade him."

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis: "We drafted Carson because of his character and his incredible abilities. And he is still showing them at age 35. He was a fantastic player to coach, always challenging everyone to be right. His decision not to continue here put us in what looked like a tough spot, but in the end it has worked out for all involved."

Jackson on whether the Raiders contacted the Bengals at this point: "No. That (Jason Campbell's October injury) was the first time."

March

Reports surface on March 1 saying Palmer claims he will never set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again. He adds he can retire with $80 million in the bank. Three weeks later Mike Brown is at the owners meetings, and reiterates he will not trade Palmer but that the team has turned its attention toward the quarterbacks in the draft.

Jackson: "I didn't (notice). Sometimes people who have been in a place a long time need a different change of scenery. I didn't know what was going on here (in Cincinnati) so I can't comment on what was, but I just know he left and everybody wishes they could have done things differently if they look back on it. I'm not saying it for him, just think everybody has reasons they make decisions and do what they do, he made his decision about a certain reason and on we go."

April 28

Prepared to take Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton out of Auburn if he fell to them, the Bengals draft Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green No. 4 overall. The Bengals then select Dalton early in the second round at No. 35 overall.

Dalton: "So I met with them at the Senior Bowl, I met with them at the combine, I met with them at my pro day. They came out and worked me out. And, I came here for a visit. So I had five different interactions with them. And it wasn't just like a 'oh, they showed up to my pro day.' It was sit down interviews and all that kind of stuff. So, going into the draft there was a chance. I didn't think i was going to get past Cincinnati in the second round. So, I knew there was definitely a lot of interest."

June 8-11

With the players locked out by the owners, Bengals veterans organized informal workouts for the defense at an indoor soccer facility in Mason and the offense gathered at Nippert Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.

Dalton was among those that attended.

Andrew Whitworth: "Your best player and an unquestioned leader of the football team left. You had to reposition. There was a lot of that (talking about repositioning leadership). It had to happen. That was the position we were in so we had to make that move."

July 25-29

Two days after the lockout ends on July 27, Brown says he won't trade Palmer. On July 29, when the training camp opens, the team places Palmer on the reserve/did not report list.

Brown, in 2011: "I wish him well and he has retired. That is his choice."

Dalton: "The biggest thing is like I knew Carson said he wasn't coming back and I had never talked to him and I got drafted. Then it was just like he wasn't here. So, I wasn't worried about it. I had so many other things that I had to worry about, so if he's not going to be here I'm going to be the starter so I've got to learn all this stuff, I've got to learn new teammates and that kind of stuff. I had plenty of other stuff I was more focused on than Carson."

Sept. 3

Giovani Bernard returns from missing all of 2010 with a torn ACL to rush for 64 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-10 North Carolina win over James Madison.

On that same date, Dre Kirkpatrick started at corner as No. 2 Alabama rolled to a 48-7 victory over Kent State while at Wisconsin, Zeitler helped protect Russell Wilson and paved the way for three Montee Ball rushing touchdowns in a 51-17 victory for the No. 10 Badgers.

Were any of them paying attention to what was happening in Cincinnati?

Bernard: "No. No."

Kirkpatrick: "Unfortunately I wasn't."

Zeitler: "I remember hearing on SportsCenter that he demanded a trade and he wasn't doing a thing. And, that was so crazy because everybody said he was a Heisman winner, USC and everything, and I just remember after him holding out and whatnot the Bengals never had a good reputation for the longest time. I didn't know much about them or what they were doing but I knew they were so rough during most of my time growing up."

Sept. 5-10

By the week of the 2011 season opener, Palmer had not filed official retirement papers with the league and was staying in shape by working out at the Athletes Performance Institute in southern California, throwing to former Bengals teammates T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Terrell Owens.

Dalton: "The other thing was it was the lockout year, so I got drafted, I came in and did these interviews and stuff and then I didn't talk to the coaches until hey, you gotta be here tomorrow. I just wasn't sure what was going to happen. I remember sitting in either training camp or kind of towards the end and I was talking with Jay Gruden and he was like, what if Carson decides he's going to show up? What if he's all of a sudden here? I think it was going into week one that week. He's like, he's just going to show up on a Thursday and show up for practice and he doesn't know anything, doesn't know the offense, doesn't know any of that kind of stuff.

"But, again, I wasn't worried about it. Thinking back on it, it was obviously a weird situation for a guy that's saying; he's technically still on the team but saying he's not going to come and I was kind of the middleman in between all that."

Sept. 11

The Bengals begin the season with a 27-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns in which Dalton goes 10-for-15 for just 81 yards and a touchdown. He posted a 102.4 rating in the victory. Backup Bruce Gradkowski went 5-for-12 for 92 yards and the game-winning pass to A.J. Green.

A new era of Bengals football had begun, albeit quietly, and with uncertainty. Palmer still, technically, could return at any point. Or, the rookie quarterback and the team would have to answer questions about him for the foreseeable future as the trade deadline of Oct. 18, 2011 rapidly approached.

Continue on to Part 2 of this oral history, from the trade through Sunday night's game in Arizona.