“I've already made up my mind – I'm playing,” said Palmer Monday afternoon. “I’m going to do what I can in practice and do what they let me do, but I’m 100 percent expecting to play going into this game and planning on playing.”
Whether that ends up being the case or not remains to be seen.
When the injury was first revealed publicly last Friday Palmer said that he was confident he would play against Cleveland. Doctors told him differently, however, and Ryan Fitzpatrick made the start against the Browns. Fitzpatrick completed 21 of 35 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown but threw three interceptions and turned the ball over four times in total as the Bengals’ offensive woes continued and they lost their fourth straight game to start the season.
Neither Palmer nor head coach Marvin Lewis would talk about the full extent of the injury.
“It's possible he could play on Sunday,” said Lewis.
Lewis also denied any intentional deception on the part of the Bengals to hide Palmer’s injury. Doctors first told Palmer Thursday evening they did not believe he should play. Fitzpatrick took the majority of practice snaps on Friday but it wasn’t until Sunday morning in pregame warm-ups that it was finalized that Fitzpatrick would start.
“I talked with Carson at length Saturday evening and told him what I thought was the best thing for him, because at that point he was still adamant that he wanted to play,” said Lewis. “So there is no deception. The doctors expressed their concern to him on Thursday, as he told you and I told you. There was no deception."
Dallas comes into this week’s game with a 3-1 record, having lost at home to Washington on Sunday, 26-24.
Fitzpatrick was making his first start as a Bengal and saw his first significant playing time since he was a rookie with St. Louis in 2005. The Bengals traded a seventh-round draft choice to the Rams at the end of the 2007 preseason to acquire Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick ran the ball four times for 41 yards but was sacked three times for 14 yards in losses. He didn’t get his first completion until the final play of the first quarter, a 13-yard pass to Chad Ocho Cinco.
Even if Palmer ends up playing against Dallas, Fitzpatrick could get the majority of snaps in practice. The treatment plan for Palmer’s elbow includes a lot of rest.
“I’m definitely looking forward to this week if it is my deal to get three days of practice,” said Fitzpatrick. “I tried to make too many plays (against Cleveland), especially stuff late in the pocket, late outside the pocket, making throws that I had no business trying to make. Those are throws that I have to eliminate if we’re going to win games.”