The Cincinnati Bengals would rather have Carson Palmer retire than trade him.

We don't plan to trade Carson, said Bengals owner Mike Brown on the NFL Network. He's important to us. He's a very fine player, and we do want him to come back. If he chooses not to, he'd retire. And we would go with Andy Dalton the younger player we drafted, who's a good prospect.

So ends the career of Palmer, a quarterback who spent eight seasons with the Bengals, and was the team's first overall pick in 2003.

It's basically time for Palmer to announce his retirement, because he has already stated on multiple occasions that he wants out of Cincinnati, and is willing to retire than return to the team.

ESPN cited a confidant of Palmer who said he will never set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again.

The Bengals apparently have no interest in wising up, and trading Palmer. He's owed $50 million on his contract, and likely wants to play in a warm-weather city.

There are plenty of teams that could use Palmer, as Kevin Kolb, Donovan McNabb, and Matt Hasselbeck are the only NFL starters from the 2010 season who are on the trading block.

The Seattle Seahawks might be a perfect destination for Palmer. He would be reunited with his former USC coach, Pete Carroll, and Palmer's personality has always been very West Coast.

Other destinations may include Arizona, San Francisco, Miami, Washington, Minnesota, and Buffalo.

What is most disheartening about the Palmer situation, is that the Bengals appear to not be budging on the idea that Palmer may have a change of heart and stick around.

That's not going to happen.

For an organization that hasn't lived up to expectations in the last eight seasons, the idea of losing Palmer and not getting anything in return would be an insult to their players who want to win, and the fans who care about seeing their team succeed.

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