NFL Draft 2011: Cincinnati Bengals Reportedly Discussing Trade For Kevin Kolb
By on April 5, 2011
3 reads
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Cincinnati Bengals Planning For Life Without Carson Palmer
With the fourth pick in the upcoming draft, the Cincinnati Bengals are in prime position to snag one of the top quarterback prospects.
Question is, by the time the next NFL season rolls around, will they have necessarily needed to draft one? Well, that depends.
Carson Palmer is technically still a Bengal, but he seems content on walking out of town — either on his own volition or as a result of a trade. Either way, Cincinnati is facing a search for a new quarterback.
That said, why not Kevin Kolb, whom ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports is drawing interest from the Bengals as an alternative to an unproven commodity in the draft? Seems like an ideal fit, especially considering Kolb’s former quarterbacks coach, James Urban, is now the receivers coach in Cincinnati.
Landing Kolb would obviously eliminate the necessity of having to draft a quarterback, at least within the first three or four rounds. But, as Cincinnati Inquirer beat writer Joe Reedy acknowledges, there are snags to any potential deal, not the least of which is the fact the current labor dispute has put an indefinite freeze on all trades.
“There is an extremely good chance that the trading period will not start until after the draft,” Reedy writes. “If the Bengals take a quarterback in the first two rounds that alone would probably take them out of the running.”
Compounding the matter is whether Philadelphia’s Andy Reid would even be willing to risk trading his backup quarterback, as well as the steep asking price Reid would demand from the Bengals, which, Reedy says, could be paid by any number of other teams in pursuit of a quarterback outside the draft.
“With all of that said the Bengals should be in the discussions to acquire Kolb since the consensus is he has a bigger upside than any of the quarterbacks in this year’s class,” Reedy notes. “However when you consider this franchise’s history with trades and reluctance to trade draft picks for players the odds are pretty steep.”
Can’t say I can argue with that assessment.
For more on the 2011 NFL Draft, visit Bleacher Report’s Draft Hub.
Most recent updates:
What is the duplicate article?
Why is this article offensive?
Where is this article plagiarized from?
Why is this article poorly edited?
0 Comments
Loading comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete