Bengals Plan to Shut Down Carson Palmer for Year, Officially Give Up on 2008 Season

MDS mentioned it yesterday: "The offensive line in Cincinnati is so awful that I continue to say they just need to shut Carson Palmer down for the season. Why risk your franchise quarterback, who's already hurt, behind a terrible offensive line in a season that's already lost anyway?"

And today, via ESPN's Chris Mortensen, them's the plans. Sort of.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is unlikely to play another game in the 2008 season but he will delay a decision on whether to have surgery to repair a "frayed" ligament in his right throwing elbow, sources told ESPN. ...

[T]he team has no plans to place Palmer on injured reserve, which would officially end his season. Palmer has asked the Bengals to wait "around two months" before taking any action because, a source said, the quarterback "does not want to abandon the team until he's certain he can't play ...the win-loss record has nothing to do with it, believe it or not."

Mortensen also reports that Palmer has visited five specialists, and consulted at least two quarterbacks who have undergone Tommy John surgery (which is what Palmer will be facing when he eventually goes under the knife) -- Jake Delhomme and Wade Phillips' legacy in Buffalo: Rob Johnson.

Injured reserve or not, Palmer's not helping the Bengals this season. The team is off to a rollicking 0-7 start, and despite Chad Javon Ocho Cinco's declaration of an 8-8 finish, Cincinnati should probably focus on just winning a game.

Interestingly, former Bengals quarterback-turned-radio/teevee personality Boomer Esiason predicted nearly a month ago that Palmer might be headed for surgery. (Looks like that online medical degree has already paid for itself.)

As for the Bengals' immediate future, this is Ryan Fitzpatrick's team, which must instill all sorts of confidence in a demoralized fan base. At least until he's broken into tiny pieces after setting the single-game sacks-taken record sometime in the next few weeks.

No word on if the Bengals will sign another warm body (if they do, they'll have to cut someone since Palmer's apparently never going on IR), but I hear Daunte Culpepper's looking for work.