Palmer and agent remain incommunicado; actions affirm plan

CINCINNATI - With the confirmation that Carson Palmer's house will indeed soon be on the market, speculation has begun about the deeper reasons behind Palmer's perhaps imminent departure from Cincinnati.

According to my sources, Palmer is unimpressed with new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. For that matter Carson Palmer tells Channel 9 sports sources he had no issues with Bob Bratkowski, his OC for seven seasons. He contends it is not play-calling but the Bengals' culture that’s turned football into drudgery for him.

We continue to get Palmer's thoughts through intermediaries as he and agent David Dunn aren't returning our calls. He has been in touch with representatives of Comey-Shepherd real estate, purveyors of high end properties, to start the process of selling his Indian Hill home.

Bengals.com acknowledges this latest development, but reports that regardless, "it appears to have no impact on his trade request. They have no plans to trade him or explore a trade and they are hoping for reconciliation."

Adding to on-field frustrations, Carson's wife is disenchanted with Cincinnati itself. Knuckleheads throwing trash on their property cemented her feelings, I'm told. So much so she returned to California well before the season was over.

And as the owner of another professional sports team in town once said, "If momma ain't happy, nobody's happy."