Quarterback Matt Ryan doesn’t do much tweeting (which the Falcons are probably thankful for given how much trouble athletes seem to find on Twitter), so it was somewhat surprising to see what he said on Monday about friend Carson Palmer.
Carson Palmer and I are really good friends, I wonder which team he’ll be playing for next year, certainly won’t be the Bengals
Ryan certainly isn’t breaking news here. Since requesting a trade in late January, Palmer has been steadfast in his desire not to return to the Bengals next season, even going as far as to say that he’ll retire then play another down for Cincinnati. President Mike Brown insists that he won’t trade the eight-year veteran, but even his coach Marvin Lewis believes that Palmer will play elsewhere in 2011.
Still, it’s interesting to see a “really good friend” and someone (I assume) with knowledge of the situation say that Palmer won’t be back with the Bengals next year. Again, Ryan doesn’t tweet much so for him to write something with so much certainty is interesting. (Of course, Ryan could just be basing his assumptions on what everyone else has been reporting about Palmer over the past two months.)
The Panthers, Bills, Titans, 49ers, Redskins, Vikings and Seahawks are all in the market for a quarterback and might pursue Palmer if the owners and players can ever agree on a CBA. Seattle would seem like a logical fit given Palmer’s connection to his former USC head coach Pete Carroll.