Cards: Upper Deck 2009 SR
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o home
Sent: 9/2 Received: 9/10 (8 days)
Failure: TTM 2011, C/o The Cincinnati Bengals
Gotta hand it to Upper Deck on this release. Rarely am I interested in buying new cards- especially at today’s prices, but these College To Pro’s inserts… (questionably with an apostrophe between the O and the S,) were a really nice subset inside their UD Star Rookies offering. A prime example is this really nice Carson Palmer insert that I was just blown away by. I thought it would look great autographed. I sent off to the Bengals after I heard that there were a few trickle down successes coming across- but unexpectedly Carson ‘retired’ from the team. My letter was RTSed, but on the outside somebody kindly wrote his new address that I quickly sent back out to.
Carson Palmer had a very good career at USC leading the Trojans to an Orange Bowl victory and also claiming the Heisman Trophy in 2002. After graduating from the school, the hard luck Bengals were looking for a new blood at the position and made him the first overall selection of the 2003 draft. As opposed to previous first round selections, David Klingler and Akili Smith, Palmer would spend his entire rookie season sitting on the bench.
In 2004 he officially took over the starting reins at quarterback for the franchise throwing for 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions and a 77.3 quarterback rating. He’d deliver for the franchise in 2005 leading them to a division title and a playoff run for the first time in some 15 seasons of futility with a career season posting a 101.1 quarterback rating and leading the league with 32 touchdowns.
Unfortunately he would be injured in the playoffs and the team would lose against the Steelers. After an amazing rehabilitation, Palmer was back on the field in 2006 without missing a regular season contest. He would win ProBowl honors at the end of the season and throw for over 4,000 yards. After another 4,000 yard season in 2007, he’d be shelved a good portion of 2008 with torn tendons in his throwing arm. Carson would answer the call again leading the team to the playoffs in 2009, but as the team slumped to a 4-12 record in 2010, Palmer demanded to be traded.
Unable or unwilling to make his demands, management decided to put him on the reserve/ did not report list.
G/Gs 97/97 Att 3217 Comp 2024 Yds 22694 Pct 62.9 Td 144 Int 110 Rat 86.9
12-18-11 UPDATE: Shortly before the 2012 trade deadline, the Oakland Raiders were looking to make a move and paid a lion’s share to get a hold of Palmer from the Bengals, where he is now the starting quarterback of the team.