Carson Palmer Eliminates Little Brother Jordan in His Quest for Freedom

Maybe being a Bengals' fan is an act of cynically slow-induced suicide (seasons do have the remarkable resemblance to the famous Chinese water torture technique). Yet, with the lockout coming to an end and a freakishly bi-polar preseason, the path to reality is finally being set by one move—the end of Jordan Palmer's career.

Now, it has never been proven, but ever since that fateful day in 2007—when the Washington Redskins cut Palmer Jr. from the team, leading to an arena football season via the Arizona Rattlers and then, oddly enough, being signed in Cincinnati—rumors of his brother's unease were taking their infancy.

After Jordan's signing it was widely speculated —though never confirmed nor proven—that little Palmer's signing was more of a security blanket, fig leaf, goodwill gesture to the recent past, present and future of the team leader—big brother Carson Palmer.

It has been cited by Profootballtalk.com that big brother Carson felt that the Bengals were stringing Jordan along in order to limit little Palmer's chances of gaining another NFL opportunity. The older Palmer seems to have been trying to manipulate the situation, as well, in walking away from his contractual obligation while trying to replace himself with an opportunity for little brother.  

It would also seem that Jordan was not given a fair chance—such as the cryptic answer given by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Joe Reedy in his "Bengals' Blog" entry on August 20th, as follows:

"4. Chances of Jordan Palmer making the team? Right now I would say 20-percent because I think it will be a political move more than one based on ability."

Yet, let's offer another angle, the one that says Jordan simply was not an NFL-caliber quarterback.

At Texas-El Paso (a.k.a. UTEP) Jordan did put up a few positive top 30 all-time NCAA numbers, however, one negative stands out starkly—career interceptions. Jordan is second all-time for most career interceptions at 64. Jordan made no impression on Washington, which is famous for quarterback issues since the Dan Snyder era started (i.e. accepting or fostering mediocrity) and not even a whisper while playing Arena football.

So, what is the logical conclusion that Jordan was signed in Cincinnati? Answer—security blanket for big brother Carson. This move was to keep the star happy and reunite big bro with little bro. Jordan had enough to keep the appearance of a backup quarterback, but his skills and lack of presence was self-evident each time little Palmer had the opportunity.