Carson Palmer: Will Palmer Reconcile with the Bengals Sooner Than Expected?

A couple weeks ago, Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown made it pretty clear what he thought of the status of veteran quarterback Carson Palmer.

"He was a splendid player for us," said Brown, per ESPN. "He's a good person. I wish him well. And he is retired. That is his choice...I'm not expecting him to be back."

Like that, Brown officially made a ruling on Palmer. The former No. 1 overall pick insisted that he would retire if he wasn't traded, and it turned out that was just fine with Brown. The bridge between Palmer and the team was severed, never to be repaired.

But not so fast. The word from ESPN's Bob Holzman (via Pro Football Talk's Evan Silva) is that Palmer was in Cincinnati in late July. In addition, Holtzman says that the Bengals have discussed his return.

So that bridge that was severed? Maybe it wasn't severed after all.

This may come as a surprise, but the truth is that it probably shouldn't. While Palmer has been unofficially retired since Brown's ruling, PFT reported last week that Palmer had yet to officially retire.

As a result, the Bengals were able to put Palmer on the reserve/did not report list, a decision that essentially left the door for his return open a slight crack. That door, it seems, will not be closed until Palmer files his retirement papers.

At last check, he still hasn't done so. And if the plot wasn't already thick before, it certainly is now after Holtzman's report.

The obvious question, though, is whether or not there's anything to all of this. What we have here are a series of dots, but will they actually end up connecting in the end?

Personally, I have a hard time seeing it. Primarily, I just have a hard time imagining any scenario in which Palmer would actually want to come back to the Bengals. He has, after all, made it quite clear that he wants nothing more to do with the franchise.

In all likelihood, the only thing that would lure Palmer out of retirement would be a promise from the Bengals that they would trade him. That's possible, but it's something that would require Brown to swallow his pride.

Which, of course, is probably not going to happen.

So the way I see it, the key word here is "discussed." It's a vague word to begin with, and in this case, I'd be shocked if it actually meant anything significant.

Long story short, don't expect Palmer and the Bengals to make up any time soon.