Carson Palmer Questions Joe Burrow's Future with Bengals Ahead of Super Bowl 56

As Cincinnati Bengals fans try to enjoy the franchise's first appearance in a Super Bowl in 34 years, one of their former quarterbacks is apparently trying to throw them into a state of panic. 

Appearing on NBC Sports' Brother From Another (h/t Chris Roling of Bengals Wire), Carson Palmer speculated about Joe Burrow's long-term future with the organization:

"I think Joe’s gonna sit back after this game, win or lose and be like ‘man, am I gonna re-sign with this team? Are they willing to do what it takes to continuously build to get back to the next Super Bowl? Next year and the year after that and the year after that? How are they willing to structure salary cap wise to be able to afford me, but to also be able to afford Ja’Marr Chase when he comes up or Tee Higgins or maybe even re-do this offensive line?'"

Palmer does speak from experience with the organization. He was selected No. 1 overall in the 2003 NFL draft and spent the first seven years of his career in Cincinnati. 

The Bengals made the postseason in 2005, their first playoff berth in 15 years. Palmer's first playoff pass was a 66-yarder to Chris Henry, but he also suffered a torn ACL on the same play. 

Cincinnati only made the playoffs one more time with Palmer (2009) and never won a postseason game with him at quarterback. 

It's silly to suggest right now that Burrow will leave the Bengals. The 25-year-old led the franchise to the Super Bowl in his first full season as an NFL quarterback. His rookie campaign in 2020 ended in Week 11 when he tore his ACL and MCL.

Burrow has two more guaranteed years on his rookie contract, plus a fifth-year option for 2024 that seems almost certain to be picked up.

Tee Higgins is under contract through 2023, and Chase's rookie deal could run through 2025 if his fifth-year option gets picked up. 

Bengals owner Mike Brown, who has a reputation for being cheap, did open up his wallet in free agency last offseason. They signed Trey Hendrickson to a four-year, $60 million contract. He made his first Pro Bowl this season after setting career highs with 27 quarterback hits and 14 sacks. 

Despite making the Super Bowl, this isn't a perfect Bengals roster. Their offensive line ranked 20th in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson. Burrow was sacked a league-high 51 times during the regular season and 12 more times in three playoff games. 

Cincinnati will go into this offseason with $55.8 million in cap space, per Spotrac. 

There will be time in the future for Bengals fans to question Brown's ability to build a sustained winner if he can't capitalize on this moment. 

For now, though, the Bengals and their fans should enjoy the moment as they try to win the franchise's first championship on Sunday when they play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56.