Chad Ochocinco: Carson Palmer gone

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Carson Palmer says he'll never play for the Cincinnati Bengals again and his house in the Cincinnati suburbs recently sold. One of his favorite targets said Thursday he doesn't doubt the quarterback won't play for the team again.

Chad Ochocinco, interviewed by "SportsCenter" on Thursday, said Palmer is a man of his word.

“

They say the grass is not greener on other side but let me tell you, when I'm watering the grass it's going to be green.

” -- Chad Ochocinco, on his own uncertain Bengals future

Ochocinco said that if Palmer comes out of character, and says he wants out or is going to retire, then the Bengals should listen to what he says.

"I know him really well. He will sit out, he will retire," Ochocinco said from the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he rode in a car with Sprint Cup driver Jeff Burton. Ochocinco added that Palmer is "frustrated" and wants a "fresh start."

Bengals owner Mike Brown repeatedly has said this offseason that he won't trade Palmer. The quarterback hasn't publicly addressed his situation, but the team has acknowledged that Palmer has stated that he will retire if he is not traded or released.

According to reports in Cincinnati, Palmer recently sold his five-bedroom property on five acres in Indian Hill, Ohio, for approximately $1.9 million. He reportedly had been asking $2.1 million.

Ochocinco's future in Cincinnati isn't clear either. The Bengals hold a $6 million team option on him and it's uncertain whether he will play for them if there is a 2011 season.

The talkative receiver said he wasn't sure if he'll be back, but even if it's the end for him in Cincinnati, it won't mean his NFL career is over.

"There's no such thing as the end for me," he told ESPN. "Whether I'm in Cincinnati or whether I'm on one of the other 31 teams, I'm going to make it happen. They say the grass is not greener on the other side, but let me tell you, when I'm watering the grass it's going to be green."

Of course, Ochocinco, like all other NFL players, is in limbo with the league currently in a lockout. Ochocinco said he isn't optimistic the lockout will end in time for the 2011 season to start when scheduled.

"I think it's coming back," he told The Associated Press in a separate interview. "I don't think it's starting on time ... no matter what you are reading. No way."

He hasn't talked to Terrell Owens since Owens' ACL injury, but he told ESPN that he doesn't doubt that his teammate of last season will be able to return from the ACL tear -- even at the age of 37. Owens' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told ESPN earlier this week that Dr. James Andrews, who performed the receiver's surgery in April, believes he can return to the field sometime in August.

"Age is really not a factor when it comes to Terrell. He's a freakish athlete, man," Ochocinco said.

Thursday's ride in Burton's race car, which according to Burton reached speeds of up to 160 miles per hour, and a chance to work with Burton's pit crew are just the latest lockout adventures for Ochocinco. He also has tried out with Major League Soccer's Sporting KC and even attempted riding a bull.

Up next: catching and wrestling alligators.

"I'm willing to try everything once before I die," Ochocinco said.

And if he gets hurt? "If I get hurt, if I lose an arm, I'll be fine. I can just be the kicker for the Bengals," he joked.

Burton said he didn't try to scare his passenger on the high-speed turns around the speedway Thursday.

"You can't scare him," Burton told the AP. "The man has ridden a bull. He runs routes across the middle of the field. He wants to wrestle an alligator. How do you scare an athlete like that?"

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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