Sources: Carson Palmer wants trade

Updated: January 24, 2011, 10:37 AM ET
By Chris Mortensen | ESPN

Carson Palmer will ask the Cincinnati Bengals to trade him and will contemplate retirement if he does not get his wish, according to several sources.

Walker: Palmer Gets Bengalized

Walker Carson Palmer has always been patient and optimistic, but it appears even he's been worn down by Cincinnati, ESPN.com's James Walker writes. Blog

• Blog network:
AFC North | NFL Nation

Palmer, the No. 1 overall pick by the Bengals in 2003, was unavailable for comment as he and his wife, Shaelynn, were awaiting the birth of their third child.

A Bengals spokesman had no comment. The team has Palmer under contract through 2014.

Palmer has become the object of fan frustration in the past two years and sources said he has grown frustrated with the team's inconsistencies. The Bengals finished 4-12 in 2010.

Sources familiar with Palmer's plan and mindset said he is financially secure for the rest of his life and willing to follow through and retire.

Several teams will be in the market for quarterbacks this offseason. Seattle will have an opening at quarterback if the Seahawks can't re-sign Matt Hasselbeck. Palmer won the Heisman Trophy for now-Seahawks coach Pete Carroll at USC in 2002. San Francisco, where his wife was raised, and Arizona could also be options.

Palmer suffered a major knee injury in a first-round playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of the 2005 season. He also suffered an elbow injury in 2008 and considered Tommy John surgery before choosing to rehab without having the operation.

Chris Mortensen is ESPN's senior NFL analyst.

Chris Mortensen

NFL reporter
  • ESPN Senior NFL Analyst
  • Joined ESPN in 1991
  • Has covered every Super Bowl since 1979

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