Carson Palmer

Carson Palmer  is an American professional football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals first overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy in 2002. He has been selected to two Pro Bowls.During the 2010 Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, Palmer completed 2 out of 5 passes for 18 yards, both to wide receiver Terrell Owens. Palmer and the Bengals started out the 2010 campaign with a 2-1 record, but would falter after that going on 10-game losing streak to finish out the season at 4-12. Statistically, Carson improved from the previous year as his attempts, completion percentage, yardage and touchdown numbers all rose. During an interview at the 2011 NFL Draft, head coach Marvin Lewis said that Carson Palmer told him he has plans to retire. In response, the Bengals selected TCU quarterback Andy Dalton in the second round. On July 26, 2011 a video posted on NFL.com showed a press conference held by Mike Brown, the president of the Bengals, stating that he did not expect Carson Palmer to return to the Bengals for the 2011-2012 season, the organization wished him well, and that there were no plans to trade him. When asked why he wouldn't trade Carson, Mike Brown answered:
"Carson signed a contract. He made a commitment. He gave his word. We relied on his word. We relied on his commitment. We expected him to perform here. He's going to walk away from his commitment. We aren't going to reward him for doing it.
Consequently, Palmer was placed on the reserve/did not report list on July 29, 2011, after failing to report to training camp. Despite Mike Brown's initial refusal to trade him, on October 18, 2011, Palmer was traded to the Oakland Raiders for a first-round pick in the 2012 draft and a conditional second-round pick in the 2013 draft, which could become a first-round pick if the Raiders won a playoff game in the 2011-2012 season. The trade came after the Raiders' starting quarterback, Jason Campbell, broke his collarbone two days earlier against the Cleveland Browns and was expected to miss the rest of the season.
With Pro Bowl punter Shane Lechler wearing Palmer's number 9 from Cincinnati, Palmer switched his jersey number to back to number 3, his number at USC which was worn by Jon Kitna in Cincinnati at the time the Bengals drafted Palmer.