Carson Palmer not on trading block, Bengals owner says

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Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown said Monday that the team will not honor quarterback Carson Palmer’s request for a trade.

Brown said Palmer asked for a trade a little more than a week ago, but the owner told the 31-year-old quarterback it won’t happen because he is central to the team’s plans.

“He was told that, and that we count on him going forward,” Brown told the Cincinnati Enquirer and the team’s website in Mobile, Ala. “He was told that we are not in a position to trade him.”

Palmer, who is under contract through 2014, has not spoken to the media since requesting a trade. The story first surfaced over the weekend, when ESPN reported that Palmer would ask the Bengals for a trade or consider retiring.

The former Heisman Trophy winner from USC is said to have grown tired of the team’s inconsistency. The Bengals have been to the postseason only twice since taking Palmer with the top overall draft pick in 2003 and did not win a playoff game either time. The team finished 4-12 this season after winning the AFC North the previous year.

“We’ll just have to see how it plays out,” Brown said. “We’ll reach out to him and understand the things that are in his craw. Maybe there are things we can do that will appeal to him. We’ll try to and see whether he can get it fit back together in the future.”

Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, whose trade request was denied in 2008, tweeted: “no everything is not messed up in Cincy, we will be fine, Carson isn’t going anywhere … relax.”

— Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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