Bengals Agree to Contract With QB Palmer
By JOE KAY, AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI - Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer agreed to a contract Thursday with the Cincinnati Bengals (news), who have the draft's top pick and a history of ruining young quarterbacks.
The Bengals narrowed their candidates for the No. 1 pick to Palmer, quarterback Byron Leftwich and cornerback Terence Newman, then targeted the passer from Southern California this week.
Palmer's agent, David Dunn (news), agreed on contract parameters late Wednesday, and filled in the rest of the details a day later.
Getting a pre-draft deal with Palmer was a priority for first-year coach Marvin Lewis, who is trying to change the Bengals' reputation for bungling away chances to improve through the draft.
The Bengals have been the NFL's worst team over the past 12 years, in part because they've mishandled their quarterbacks. They moved up to take David Klingler in the first round in 1992, and chose Akili Smith (news) with the third overall pick in 1999.
Neither one had much of a chance on a team that hasn't had a winning record since 1990. Both missed training camp in contract disputes, then got thrown into the lineup as unprepared rookies.
Klingler, who came from a run-and-shoot offense at Houston, and Smith, a mobile passer from Oregon, were confined by the Bengals' passing philosophy. They tried to turn both of them into Ken Anderson (news) clones — stand in the pocket until the last second, then dump it off if necessary.
Klingler lasted only four years with a weak offensive line and an unimpressive receiving corps — Jeff Query was his top target at the outset.
The Bengals did even worse with Smith, who got less than one full season as a starter before he was discarded. The Bengals teamed him with rookie receivers Peter Warrick and Ron Dugans in 2000, when head coach Bruce Coslet quit three games into the season.
Coslet was in charge of developing Smith, who got little guidance and wound up relegated to third string for the past two seasons. He's still on the roster.
Palmer has one thing in his favor: Lewis understands the importance of bringing a young quarterback along slowly. Plus, Lewis needs to win right away, so he'll let veteran Jon Kitna (news) run the offense this season, with Smith currently in line as the backup.
The Bengals were willing to trade down with the first pick, but found no suitable partner. They brought in Palmer, Leftwich and Newman for interviews with the staff and front office this month before finally deciding to go with the more acclaimed quarterback.
Palmer is 6-foot-4 and more of a pocket passer than either Klingler or Smith. After going 16-16 in his first three seasons, he got the Trojans into the top 10 and led them to the Orange Bowl (news - web sites) last season.
Palmer was the first of Southern Cal's five Heisman winners to play quarterback, and the first Heisman winner chosen No. 1 in the draft since Tampa Bay took Vinny Testaverde (news) in 1987.
Like Klingler and Smith, he comes to Cincinnati brimming with confidence that he will be different.
"I've not met a whole lot of people like me," he said at the scouting combine in February. "I think I can go in and turn it around."
By JOE KAY, AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI - Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer agreed to a contract Thursday with the Cincinnati Bengals (news), who have the draft's top pick and a history of ruining young quarterbacks.
The Bengals narrowed their candidates for the No. 1 pick to Palmer, quarterback Byron Leftwich and cornerback Terence Newman, then targeted the passer from Southern California this week.
Palmer's agent, David Dunn (news), agreed on contract parameters late Wednesday, and filled in the rest of the details a day later.
Getting a pre-draft deal with Palmer was a priority for first-year coach Marvin Lewis, who is trying to change the Bengals' reputation for bungling away chances to improve through the draft.
The Bengals have been the NFL's worst team over the past 12 years, in part because they've mishandled their quarterbacks. They moved up to take David Klingler in the first round in 1992, and chose Akili Smith (news) with the third overall pick in 1999.
Neither one had much of a chance on a team that hasn't had a winning record since 1990. Both missed training camp in contract disputes, then got thrown into the lineup as unprepared rookies.
Klingler, who came from a run-and-shoot offense at Houston, and Smith, a mobile passer from Oregon, were confined by the Bengals' passing philosophy. They tried to turn both of them into Ken Anderson (news) clones — stand in the pocket until the last second, then dump it off if necessary.
Klingler lasted only four years with a weak offensive line and an unimpressive receiving corps — Jeff Query was his top target at the outset.
The Bengals did even worse with Smith, who got less than one full season as a starter before he was discarded. The Bengals teamed him with rookie receivers Peter Warrick and Ron Dugans in 2000, when head coach Bruce Coslet quit three games into the season.
Coslet was in charge of developing Smith, who got little guidance and wound up relegated to third string for the past two seasons. He's still on the roster.
Palmer has one thing in his favor: Lewis understands the importance of bringing a young quarterback along slowly. Plus, Lewis needs to win right away, so he'll let veteran Jon Kitna (news) run the offense this season, with Smith currently in line as the backup.
The Bengals were willing to trade down with the first pick, but found no suitable partner. They brought in Palmer, Leftwich and Newman for interviews with the staff and front office this month before finally deciding to go with the more acclaimed quarterback.
Palmer is 6-foot-4 and more of a pocket passer than either Klingler or Smith. After going 16-16 in his first three seasons, he got the Trojans into the top 10 and led them to the Orange Bowl (news - web sites) last season.
Palmer was the first of Southern Cal's five Heisman winners to play quarterback, and the first Heisman winner chosen No. 1 in the draft since Tampa Bay took Vinny Testaverde (news) in 1987.
Like Klingler and Smith, he comes to Cincinnati brimming with confidence that he will be different.
"I've not met a whole lot of people like me," he said at the scouting combine in February. "I think I can go in and turn it around."
