Part 2: An oral history of the Carson Palmer trade

In part two of the oral history of the Carson Palmer trade, the principal players recap the trade and how it brought several key players from this season’s 8-1 team into the organization.

Part 1: The tumultuous nine months of 2011 between Palmer's demand for a trade and the start of Andy Dalton's career as the Bengals' leader.

The Bengals opened the 2011 season with Andy Dalton as their starter, and Carson Palmer remained in limbo, working out in California, steadfast in his stance to never play for the organization again.

But Bengals owner and president Mike Brown was also as resolute. He wasn’t going to trade the erstwhile franchise quarterback unless his demands of a first- and second-round pick were met.

It would take an injury and a coach across the country to make that happen and change the course of the Bengals' organization and Palmer.

Oct. 8, 2011

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis passes away at the age of 82. Son Mark Davis takes control of the team.

Oct. 16

The Bengals beat Indianapolis, 27-17, their third straight victory heading into the bye week. In Oakland, Jason Campbell breaks his collarbone against Cleveland. The Raiders won that game, however, to improve to 4-2 under first year head coach Hue Jackson.

Jackson: “Jason got hurt. I knew he was going to be out. They said he tore his shoulder. They didn’t know how long it was going to be. Could be six weeks, could be eight weeks but sounds like it was the worst tear you can have. So, I thought the team had a chance to continue to move forward. I said, hey, there’s a quarterback sitting at home. I didn’t want to be the pied piper of it all, I just knew if we could get the guy we had a chance. That’s what it’s all about.

"He worked out. I stood at the workout. Mark did, too. We made the decision, hey, this guy can help us."

Oct. 18

The Raiders and Bengals come to terms on a trade in the hours before the trade deadline passed. The Raiders would send their 2012 first-round pick and a 2013 second-round choice to the Bengals for Palmer.

Brown, in 2011: “The principal development has been Andy Dalton, who has shown himself to be one of the best and most exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL. We have a good, young football team, and Andy can be the cornerstone of that team for a long time.”

Palmer on his time in Cincinnati: “I look at it very positively. I have a lot of great relationships, a lot of fun times. I'm a glass is half-full, the way I look at things, I think of all the positive things.”

Jackson: "There was nobody else out there. You either say, I give and, hey team we are going to do the best we can, or you do everything you can to help the team win. Here we are. I wanted to give the team the best opportunity to win. In the end we made the decision for a guy who could help us win."

Dalton: “I think it was more of we had done enough and I had done enough to prove that I was the guy. If things hadn’t gone well, I’m sure they could have pushed for them to try and get him back and all that kind of stuff but at that point it was like, we’re moving on. Officially moving on.

“Obviously I felt good about it. Because I was having to answer questions about it. I think that was the biggest thing. It wasn't talked about in the locker room, it wasn’t talked about with the coaches, it wasn’t talked about with any of that kind of stuff, it was talked about with the media.”

Zeitler: “I knew he got traded to the Raiders, the Raiders picked him up and I was like ‘wow, the Raiders got a QB’ never thinking it would affect me in any way.”

Kirkpatrick: “I didn’t really know enough. I’m still trying to learn the big talk about the Carson trade for me, so I really don’t understand it. Maybe because I really didn’t try to understand it.”

Oct. 23

Palmer comes off the bench for the Raiders, going 8-for-21 and 116 yards with three interceptions in a 28-0 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jackson: “It was hard. Kudos to him. He’s the only guy who could have did what we did. I give the guy a lot of credit for that. I look back on it now, it was tough. But he was the only guy who could do it. “

Palmer, on if he paid attention to what was said and written about him: “Not really. Other than stuff you can't avoid.”

Jan. 1, 2012

The Raiders lose the regular-season finale, 38-26 to San Diego, to fall to 8-8 and narrowly miss the playoffs, one game behind the 9-7 Bengals. Palmer started the final nine games of the year for Oakland, and the Raiders finished 4-6 with him under center.

Jackson: “We were a quarter away from making the playoffs. It’s not for me to speak about them but they hadn’t made it since 2002. I had a goal and dream for the organization to do that. I thought that’s what the players want, I thought they deserved that. End of the day, if I’m wrong for that then I’m wrong for that. That’s what my whole goal was. That’s what it truly was all about.”

Jan. 2

Kevin Zeitler and the Wisconsin Badgers fell to Oregon, 45-38, in the Rose Bowl, in which Montee Ball rushed for 164 yards and a score, and Russell Wilson threw for 296 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Jan. 7

The Bengals lose 31-10 at Houston in the AFC Wild Card round, capping a rookie season for Dalton in which he started all 16 games. The Bengals won five more games than they did in 2014 with Dalton throwing for 3,318 yards and 20 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He posted an 80.4 quarterback rating.

Jan. 9

Dre Kirkpatrick plays in the BCS National Championship game for Alabama, a 21-0 win over LSU.

Jan. 11

The Raiders, now under leadership of Al Davis' son, Mark, fire Hue Jackson. The trade serves as a defining moment of his one season as head coach.

Jackson: “It wasn’t about Hue’s ego, Hue’s this, Hue’s that. I just thought the organization deserved a chance to win. So I brought his name up. In the end Mark has come out and said he made the trade, which is true. Obviously, did I know the people here to talk to them to see where it was going to go, how it was going to fit? Yeah."

“I didn’t make the decision about us taking Carson. I’ve always gotten crucified for it. I was told I was the GM, always wanted more power, wanted this, wanted that, that wasn’t the case at all. You know somebody who can help your football team you are going to bring them up. That’s what I did.

"They are the ones who made it all work in the end.”

Feb. 17

Bengals hire Jackson to coach as an assistant in the secondary and on special teams.

April 26

In the first round of the NFL Draft, the Bengals use the pick they received from Oakland to take Kirkpatrick at No. 17 overall. They then traded down, out of the No. 21 spot, to pick Zeitler at No. 27. That trade also earned an extra pick, allowing them to select defensive tackle Brandon Thompson No. 93 overall in the third round.

Kirkpatrick: “I heard about it after I got drafted. When I was here I heard it from a few fans and they were just like ‘great trade from Carson.’ They made little funny jokes about it. That’s when my ears kind of went up about it, but I never really went into depth on the details.”

“I know it was a great move for them because now we’ve got guys that want to win and guys that believe in the program. It was a good move by the Bengals.”

Zeitler: “Oh yeah, I could have been somewhere else, easily. Looking back on it, you never know. Because I doubt they probably would have used the pick on Dre if they didn’t have an extra one and I probably wouldn’t have been here. It’s kind of funny how that works out.”

Sept. 10

In a Monday night doubleheader, Dalton threw for 221 yards with an interception in a 44-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Later, Palmer threw for 297 yards and a touchdown in a 22-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers.

Nov. 24

Giovani Bernard runs for 163 yards on 27 carries and a TD in his last game for the University of North Carolina, a 45-38 victory over Maryland.

Nov. 25

Palmer goes 19 for 34 for 146 yards and a TD and an INT for a 64.1 rating in a 34-10 loss against the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. On the game’s third play, and Palmer’s first pass attempt, Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins drove Palmer into the turf for a sack, leaving the quarterback bloodied.

Dalton: “The whole time I didn’t talk to Carson until I played him for the first time. Which, in training camp his brother Jordan was here for a little bit, and I had gotten to know Jordan pretty well but yeah, the only time I was getting questions or it was talked about was through the media.”

Zeitler: “I knew that first year when we played Carson there was a lot of; I knew there was animosity from the whole situation. The city was hyped up about it. I think there were a couple players that were pretty hyped too. Me, not knowing him or anything, I just considered it a game. But for a lot of other people it probably meant more.”

Michael Johnson: “You got to win with who you got. That’s what we try to focus on in this locker room. No matter who is up, who is down, who is in, who is out. That was four/five years ago. I can barely remember that far back.”

April 2, 2013

The Raiders trade Carson Palmer to the Arizona Cardinals.

Palmer: “I’ve bumped into a handful of guys (from the Bengals). There’s really not too many guys left, but just in the offseason and stuff and preseason game last year or whatever it is, you have a chance to bump into guys randomly, and I’ve seen a couple guys just being back in Cincinnati here and there in the offseasons, but most of the guys are gone.”

April 25

In the second round of the NFL Draft, the Bengals selected Bernard with the No. 37 overall pick, the last piece of the Palmer trade from October, 2011.

Bernard, on if he knew he was connected to the Palmer trade: “I mean, after (the draft). I didn’t really pay attention to it. I don’t really think about it. They had the pick and they made their choice.”

Zeitler on the trade: “I think it helped. Because of the trade, they were able to draft some players. I played a bunch. Gio’s been big time. Dre’s been big time. So, I mean, it’s one part where they’ve always told me they kind of re-started everything the year before I got here and took the franchise in a new direction, get rid of people and start fresh and put people who would be good people everywhere. I think that makes sense. I think that was the start of everything. Then the people you mentioned, we all got here, and that just helps the fact that we’ve been able to build ever since.”

January 10, 2014

Bengals promote Jackson to offensive coordinator.

March

Palmer would have become an unrestricted free agent from the Bengals, as his 6-year, $118.75 million extension signed in 2006 expires.

Aug. 4

Bengals give Dalton a 6-year, $96 million extension, a deal that could reach $115 million with escalators, including $500,000 added to the base if the Bengals won an AFC Championship game and $1.5 million to win a Super Bowl.

Nov. 22, 2015

The 8-1 Bengals head to Arizona to take on the 7-2 Cardinals on Sunday Night Football.

Palmer and Dalton are in the Most Valuable Player conversation; Dre Kirkpatrick is starting at cornerback and Kevin Zeitler at right guard. Giovani Bernard is currently the Bengals’ leading rusher. Brandon Thompson plays a supporting role in the defensive line rotation.

Palmer: "When you play against a former team, it’s not just another game. I’m not going to bore you with that because there’s definitely a lot on this one for me in particular, but we’re a very focused group. It’s not about me. It’s about us and executing what we do and focusing on our jobs at hand and going out and trying to get a win.”

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis: “Our veteran and young players rose to the challenge, including Andy Dalton, and it sets up a great matchup for the fans of both teams this weekend. I look forward to seeing Carson on the field before the game."

Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth: “I don’t think at this point we even think about that. We moved on. He’s where he’s at and we are where we are at. Everybody is happy.”

Jackson: “I think people are starting to understand it was bigger than me. What happened was when Al died I was the only one who really talked to the media, nobody else did, but there was nothing I did on my own. Any decision made for the team obviously somebody else had to make it. There was no GM title on my name. I always thought it was a little unfair that I got tied that way. That’s what people will do. It goes with the territory.”

Kirkpatrick, on how the move brought the Bengals several players: “You know, it’s football. You have to make moves. You have to make moves to better your team. Things like this happen. This won’t be the last time. Just as long as it’s panning out for us, that’s all that really matters.”

Bernard: “Well, for me, I don’t think there’s a ‘fate’ in football. There is no fate. Things happen for a reason. But I don’t think there’s a fate like oh, we were here ‘because.’ No, I don’t believe in that. Things happened, obviously, made trades, made picks - it either could have turned really bad for us or turned really good and it turned out really good for us. We’ve got great players on this team because of that trade.”

Dalton: “You never know what the future holds. I think God’s in control of all that kind of stuff. God places you where you’re supposed to be. It is crazy to think that certain guys may not have been here if that trade never happened, but it worked out how it’s supposed to.”