Lewis names Palmer - Kitna Disappointed

[Kirkendall]

With the football now in Carson Palmer’s right hand, the Bengals have officially begun their effort to transform their offense from solid play to big play.

When head coach Marvin Lewis broke the news to incumbent quarterback Jon Kitna last month that they are headed in a longer, different direction despite his NFL Comeback Player of the Year season, the long ball surfaced.

And Kitna, coming off a career-high 26 touchdown passes, still couldn’t hide his disappointment Monday after Lewis went public with his decision.

“The one thing that Marvin said is that they wanted to try and throw the ball over the top of people more,” Kitna said. “I just wish they had given me that opportunity because whenever we tried to throw the ball over the top of people, we were pretty successful. But the opportunities weren’t as many as I would have liked, or as many as the guys on the team would have liked.”

Despite Kitna’s keen disappointment that had him openly wondering if he has a future here, he did as expected and offered Palmer his full support. He said he hopes he never takes another snap for the Bengals because that would mean they are losing or Palmer gets hurt. But he left his future as he heads into the final year of his contract (Release? Renegotiation? Trade? Stay as the No. 2?) in the hands of his faith.

“All that other stuff will take care of itself,” Kitna said, “when God decides where he wants me to be.”

Lewis also announced the release of defensive tackle Oliver Gibson, a four-year regular, as well as the decision to tender all seven restricted free agents. The big number went to running back Rudi Johnson in a one-year, $1.8 million offer that guarantees the Bengals first- and third-round compensation. The Bengals also tendered cornerback Reggie Myles, a third-year player who can now only sign with Cincinnati.

With Lewis banking his second season as head coach on a quarterback who took zero snaps as a rookie last season, he wanted to give his coaches time to craft an offense fit for an elite college quarterback who has all the physical skills but none of the pro experience.

“He’s very, very talented. He has done nothing since we drafted him to disappoint any of us,” Lewis said. “We’re excited for him, about his future, his ability to help us offensively do things. (The decision) is a chance for our football team to have the understanding as we start who is the quarterback as we go into free agency and the offseason. It gives an identity of who we are as our coaches plan out the way to go in ’04.”

His decision had the backing of some key offensive players, although they felt badly for Kitna.

“We knew it was coming. We knew some time he was going to start. So let’s go to work,” said Pro Bowl receiver Chad Johnson, Palmer’s No. 1 target.

** Continued from Homepage **

“Kit had a great year. It would have been nice to see what he would have done if he kept going, but obviously Marvin and the coaches feel this is the way to go, so let’s go.”

Asked how long he’ll need to develop chemistry with Palmer, Johnson said, “Less than a month.”

He can get started March 22 _ three weeks from Monday _ when off-season workouts start. Right tackle Willie Anderson, the Bengals’ dean with 120 NFL starts, thinks the club is going to have confidence in Palmer once they re-convene in a few weeks at PBS.

“I think it’s going to help Carson sitting for a year watching a guy almost go to the Pro Bowl in Jon Kitna,” Anderson said. “As far as Kitna took this team with the great year he had, Carson has the athletic ability to take it farther. He has to master the mental aspect of the game the way Kitna mastered it and when Carson does that, he’ll be a real good quarterback.”

As for Palmer, he spent Monday in San Diego at Tampa Bay safety John Lynch’s charity golf tournament. He’ll spend a few more weeks in southern California and then head east to claim the ball in an offense that doesn’t overwhelm him.

“I’m leaps and bounds more comfortable compared to when I first came in,” Palmer said. “I still have a lot to learn, but I definitely feel confident in the offense and can be successful. Every quarterback will tell you you can never know enough. I’m always going to study and try and learn more and more as I go.”

Palmer and Kitna, who turns 32 early this season, have the Bengals in a jam under the salary cap. In this, the last year of his contract, Kitna counts $4.35 million against the cap, $3.3 million of it as ’04 salary. The Bengals approached his agent about an extension last month at the NFL scouting combine, but Kitna hinted he isn’t going to reduce his current salary (“I don’t mind playing at that,”) in exchange for a lower cap figure this year.

Kitna said he approached Lewis before last season with an offer to extend in a deal that would have lowered his cap figure without giving him more money, “but I guess they weren’t interested.” Usually, an extension, coupled with lowering the current year’s cap number, involves giving the player his salary, or a part of his salary, for that year in up-front money.

That wasn’t as attractive to the Bengals last year as it is this year because Kitna still had two years left on a play time-based contract and Palmer looked ready to assume the job at some point during the season. But as Kitna said Monday, things have changed, “and we’ll see what they want to do now.”

Also figuring into the equation not only has to be Palmer’s pedigree and last year’s promising preseason, but those economics. Once the Bengals selected Palmer, they were chained together in the salary cap. His six-year, $40 million deal can max out at $49 million. Over last year and this one, he gets about $14 million in bonus and is scheduled to take home about $18 million in his first three years.

But Kitna wasn’t happy to hear that Lewis said he only plans to play the best players.

“That makes me disappointed,” Kitna said. “(That must mean) I’m better than I think I am.”

Before Kitna unleashed the club’s most accurate passing season in 20 years, the Bengals made Palmer the first overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft last April. Palmer came into the draft as the Heisman Trophy winner whose dimensions (6-5, 230 pounds), arm (seven 300-yard passing games and 33 touchdown passes as a senior), and leadership (the Trojans averaged 41 points per game in the last eight weeks to earn the Rose Bowl title), combined to make him what many draft experts consider the prototype of an elite pro quarterback.

But Lewis has insisted since he took the job 13 months ago that the best players and not the richest are going to play. He reiterated the point Monday when he said he’ll change quarterbacks if that is the reason the Bengals are losing games.

“We owe it to everybody in this building,” said Lewis of his commitment to win.

Lewis showed he would stay true to his beliefs last year despite Palmer’s spectacular moments. He flashed his enormous potential in the last preseason with a quite solid 87.8 passer rating.

In his PBS debut, Palmer was seven of seven passing for 97 yards to six different receivers and two touchdowns to lead a 23-10 win.

He also showed the inconsistencies of youth. In the pre-season opener at The Meadowlands against the Jets, he threw two interceptions that got returned for touchdowns. He also threw one of his own to finish 12 of 22 for 140 yards.

"It goes back to all the things we drafted him for," said offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. "He's got a great, quick release. He's got a strong arm. He's tall. He can get the ball down the field. He's got good touch.

"There's a lot of rookie quarterbacks that even in that situation don't perform well," said Bratkowski of Palmer's pre-season work against backups. "It was a very positive sign. Look at what he's capable of doing."

Bratkowski said Palmer is going to fit into the minicamp practice schedule just like Kitna would have, probably at about 80 percent of the snaps.

Gibson, who turns 32 in two weeks, saw his time significantly cut last year after three seasons of being the Bengals' anchor on the defensive front in turning out to be one of their best free-agent signings ever. He didn't start a game after rebounding from tearing his Achilles' tendon late in the 2002 season. With the move, the Bengals figure to pick up about $2.5 million in salary cap room for this season.

[Kirkendall]

Kitna's reaction is added into Hobsons piece online, which is included in the above. Seems that Kitna is playing a different tone than the conclusion of last season.

[kevnz]

Well of course Kitna is gonna be upset...He wasn't outplayed for the job, he was out payed for the job...He won't rock the boat, but he may not consider extending his deal (and who can blame him? He figures he can play in this league and win) I also think he feels a bit miffed by some of the things said about wanting to go deep more....Basically he feels slighted....I don't know, I am a huge Kitna fan but he just doesn't have the arm strength that Palmer does (or a lot of NFL QB's)...I actually think Kitna would be a great West Coast(west coast my ass...The Bengals used it first ...damn San Fran) QB....I really think the Bengals should make a grab at keeping Matthews, and try to trade Kitna.....Cause I think Kitna deserves to start, but I understand the reasons for giving the ball to Palmer...

[Kirkendall]

Well of course Kitna is gonna be upset...He wasn't outplayed for the job, he was out payed for the job...He won't rock the boat, but he may not consider extending his deal (and who can blame him? He figures he can play in this league and win) I also think he feels a bit miffed by some of the things said about wanting to go deep more....Basically he feels slighted....I don't know, I am a huge Kitna fan but he just doesn't have the arm strength that Palmer does (or a lot of NFL QB's)...I actually think Kitna would be a great West Coast(west coast my ass...The Bengals used it first ...damn San Fran) QB....I really think the Bengals should make a grab at keeping Matthews, and try to trade Kitna.....Cause I think Kitna deserves to start, but I understand the reasons for giving the ball to Palmer...

You know, now would be a great time to trade Kitna. He is by far at his highest value and one year sitting on the bench could devalue his trade worth.

[Kirkendall]

BTW - The Around the Horn guys, the 5PM ESPN show, all said it's a bad idea..

I love egging s**t on..

[HoosierCat]

I'd expect Kitna's initial reaction to be one of frustration and disappointment. He lost the job because of the money, not how he played, and he isn't dumb, he had to know this was coming -- but none of that makes it any easier. Certainly I wouldn't expect him to be very receptive to reason today...

But I think he'll soon realize that the Bengals have treated him as well as could be expected under the circumstances. For one thing, free agency is about to start and this move basically puts Kitna on the market. I would not be surprised if the Bengals gave him permission to talk to other teams about a trade, were he to ask for it. But in any event, no one who might be interested in him would hesistate now to call the Bengals.

The Bengals could have let the question linger, could have strung him along with lines like, "Jon didn't do anything to lose his job." Basically, they could have screwed him, but didn't.

My bet is that the Bengals would like to keep him, maybe with something like a 5 year, $8 million deal with 3 million up front and $1 million a year salary. Which means he gets his $4 million for 2004 and cool mil every year after for warming the bench. And I'm sure they'd include incentives and escalators to increase that if he should see extended playing time.

Is that enough for Kitna? Dunno. His comment about a $3 million salary being right doesn't strike me (as suggested in the story) as directed against a new deal with Cincy, but rather a signal of his price range to any other teams actually interested.

And that's the big question: is there anyone interested? I think you can make a case for and against Kitna. For: as Kirk has said elsewhere, it appears the proverbial light bulb may have gone on for Jon and that he's going to be one of the late-blooming good QBs. Against: last year's success isn't typical of his career and comes after three straight years in the same system with the same players. He may falter elsewhere, and at 32 doesn't have time to spend a year or two getting up to speed.

We'll see.

[AGrizzlyBaer]

BTW - The Around the Horn guys, the 5PM ESPN show, all said it's a bad idea..

I love egging s**t on..

yeah i saw that, dumb asses dont know anything

[kevnz]

You know, now would be a great time to trade Kitna. He is by far at his highest value and one year sitting on the bench could devalue his trade worth.

Well, that's the problem, in one year he is a Free Agent, no trade value what so ever, that's also one of the problems, he would have to negotiate a new contract before the trade, cause no team is gonna trade for him with just one year left (unless of course they lose two QB's before the season starts, highly unlikely) So I think the Bengals should be shopping him pretty damn quick.....Or not at all, cause it could disrupt team chemistry...Cause Kitna isn't going to cause a problem, and would rush to stop any controversy before it happens, but if he leaves, he won't be around to quite the whispers if there is a prolonged problem...

Of course the Bengals could trade him, and Palmer ends up in the pro bowl, who the hell knows? But let's face it, Palmer is being handed the keys to a sports car....between WR's Johnson, and Warrick, and RB's like Johnson and Dillon (while he's a bengal) and they just need to develop consistancy at TE...(I'm sorry Kirk, I like the players there, it's the play calling when they're in there that's the problem...believe it or not Reggie Kelly can catch the ball, and Schobel is improving his run blocking....damn why won't they run more 2 TE sets) that's pretty damn good, if you look at what the rookie QB's had to work with last year and look at the offense that Palmer get's no comparison...If he can't suceed in this offense he can't suceed.

[Kirkendall]

Well, that's the problem, in one year he is a Free Agent, no trade value what so ever, that's also one of the problems, he would have to negotiate a new contract before the trade, cause no team is gonna trade for him with just one year left (unless of course they lose two QB's before the season starts, highly unlikely) So I think the Bengals should be shopping him pretty damn quick.....Or not at all, cause it could disrupt team chemistry...Cause Kitna isn't going to cause a problem, and would rush to stop any controversy before it happens, but if he leaves, he won't be around to quite the whispers if there is a prolonged problem...

I think Joisey made a great point in that Kitna will probably calm down. He's not one to to continue a struggle, at least not anymore. But you're right Kev, just dump him quick if that's the direction, sign Matthews if he takes, and maybe pick up a young FA.

they just need to develop consistancy at TE...(I'm sorry Kirk, I like the players there, it's the play calling when they're in there that's the problem...believe it or not Reggie Kelly can catch the ball, and Schobel is improving his run blocking

No doubt. If they can create a little off-balence plays while not creating a tendancy, then I'm all for it. Just seemed like the defense was keying off the plays and the personnel in. Change up the play call, then I'll go for it.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I think Joisey made a great point in that Kitna will probably calm down. He's not one to to continue a struggle, at least not anymore.

I can't believe he has to be calmed down. Of all people who should of seen this coming, it was Jon! This writing has been on the wall for a long time. Hell, you guy's know I've been saying this was going to happen for a long time now, and I'm no fortune teller!

[richmond_mat]

I'm surprised at this because of the coach's standard line of "best players play."

In any event I think this change makes resigning richie braham more important. He may not be all pro, but he knows the system and does a pretty good job.

[chrishcovga]

Kitna will humble out ,because God told him too...lol. His comments that he' may or may not be willing to take a pay cut,means that his pride got in the way of a decision he was told would happen 11 months ago. !! Maybe Kitna should stop involving the Most High on this one, and take it for what it's worth.Sooner or later a man has to realize his limitations.He Reached his, back on December 21st. against the Rams.

[HoosierCat]

I'm sure Kitna knew it was coming, but even so it's only natural to be disappointed. He may have known it was coming but I'm sure he still hoped he was wrong! Now those hopes have been extinguished. Frankly, I wouldn't have blamed him if he'd gone off on a rant about being jobbed after having a great season -- and it's a testament to his character, as well as Marvin's adroit handling of the affair, that he didn't.

I'm sure this is tough for a competitive athlete to take but Jon Kitna seems to have a sense of proportion. I'm sure it will occur to him (if it hasn't already) that the worst thing that happens is that he redoes his deal with Bengals and walks away with several million dollars for signing his name on a line. I would venture to say that about 99% of the rest of humanity would crawl over broken glass for a similar opportunity.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I would venture to say that about 99% of the rest of humanity would crawl over broken glass for a similar opportunity.

Hell I know I would!! In fact I would stand holding that clipboard for way less than that, and be damn happy about it to boot!!

[Kirkendall]

I think Joisey made a great point in that Kitna will probably calm down.  He's not one to to continue a struggle, at least not anymore.

I can't believe he has to be calmed down. Of all people who should of seen this coming, it was Jon! This writing has been on the wall for a long time. Hell, you guy's know I've been saying this was going to happen for a long time now, and I'm no fortune teller!

I think a little frustration comes from Kitna losing the job before the first day they take the field in mini-camp.

I wonder how Carson feels about uprooting Kitna?

[kevnz]

I would venture to say that about 99% of the rest of humanity would crawl over broken glass for a similar opportunity.

Hell I know I would!! In fact I would stand holding that clipboard for way less than that, and be damn happy about it to boot!!

But why be happy when you'd feel like you could go and do even more than hold the clipboard....That's what it comes down too...Kitna feels like he can win playing QB, he played his ass off this past year, and probably is heading into his best stretch of football years....Why waste your prime away? If the player felt that hey, #2 is all I can be, then yeah...that's why you see some guys in the league for ages as a backup QB...But Kitna feels that he can be #1, and for that matter posted a better record than half the league QB's, was a pro bowl alternate....Why should he be happy at #2?

[BengalszoneBilly]

I wonder how Carson feels about uprooting Kitna?

Read for yourself, last paragraph.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1748183

[HoosierCat]

I would venture to say that about 99% of the rest of humanity would crawl over broken glass for a similar opportunity.

Hell I know I would!! In fact I would stand holding that clipboard for way less than that, and be damn happy about it to boot!!

But why be happy when you'd feel like you could go and do even more than hold the clipboard....That's what it comes down too...Kitna feels like he can win playing QB, he played his ass off this past year, and probably is heading into his best stretch of football years....Why waste your prime away?

Everything's always relative, of course (and it appears no one here is a millionaire NFL QB, so... )

But if that's how Kitna feels, that he can be a No. 1, then all he has to do is ask for permission to seek a trade. And then he can see if anyone else agrees.

Kitna holds all the cards. The Bengals really can't deny him permission because then he'll just force his release by refusing to rework his deal. And if they refuse to release him, they lose any hope of getting anything since he's a FA next year. If a reasonable offer comes in, take it, resign Matthews as No. 2, and draft a QB on day 2.

(Alternatively, I hear Scott Covington is tanned, rested, and ready! )

[mtmeece]

Well Well Well i'm not ready for yet another so called building year, but it appears that will be the case. This marks the first Marvin blunder and i'm sure that i will probably recieve death threats over such a remark. What game did I miss ???? When did Palmer out play or otherwise win the starting job if it's all about the money then get ready for more money motivated decisions. HOW ABOUT SOME GAME WINNING DECISIONS LIKE PLAYING THE BEST PLAYER FOR THE POSITION INSTEAD OF PLAYING THE GUY WITH THE BIG PAYCHECK.

[BengalszoneBilly]

This marks the first Marvin blunder.

That remains to be seen. Come game #8 in next season, we'll have our answer. I honestly don't agree. Marvin didn't get where he is today by being overly prone to making blunders.

[B24]

I agree with the decision to start Palmer. He's the Bengals' quarterback of the future. He can only learn so much from the sidelines. I'd rather Palmer go through his growing pains this season instead of him wasting his second season on the bench.

Also since he's been named starter before training camp he'll get a majority of the snaps and be better prepared for the upcoming season.

I think he'll do a great job...at least I hope.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I think he'll do a great job...at least I hope.

We all hope so, because it's too late to turn back now.

[Bobcat Bengal]

Actually I feel a little bad for Kitna...I know in the past, we've gotten pissed at him...but I like his attitude, he's a cool dude....and maybe his biblical speak actually did do something for him, I mean, he's the only QB to not miss a snap last year...maybe he does have GOD looking over his shoulder.....but I like this quote hurr:

I’m prepared to help Carson (Palmer) and I’ll be the highest paid assistant coach in the NFL.”

He'd probably make an excellent coach after his playing days are over....

[Bobcat Bengal]

I agree man, everybody's talking about the tough season ahead...blah....that doesn't mean squat in the NFL, teams regress severly every year, look at the JETS....with that said, he needs to get in there and get his ass kicked...it sounds bad, but its actually not....cuz I don't know one QB in this league that just came in and ripped s**t up from jump....Peyton did the best and he had a even TD/INT ratio...let him get his knocks, he'll learn and all for the better....I just don't agree letting Kitna go though....