Gunzlingr
04-25-2003, 09:41 AM
SportsTicker
By John Pezzullo SportsTicker Pro Football Editor
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) - The Cincinnati Bengals are quite happy with Carson Palmer. But who will embrace Byron Leftwich in the 2003 NFL Draft?
The tale of two quarterbacks will commence with the Bengals selecting Palmer with the first overall pick on Saturday. While the media engulfs the Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California, Leftwich will continue to wonder about his destination.
Palmer does not have Leftwich's arm strength, but is more mobile and is regarded by most scouts as the better pure passer. Plus Leftwich's injury history at Marshall will cause some coaches and general managers to shy away.
The 6-5 1/2, 241-pound quarterback suffered a stress fracture in his left leg in 2001 and had a rod inserted into his tibia. Last November in a game against Akron, he took a hit on the leg, creating a hairline fracture in the same bone. Yet he returned to play the second half and four more games with the leg still broken and averaged 318 yards and threw for four touchdowns.
The Bengals held discussions with Palmer, Leftwich and Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman, but they wanted Palmer all along and reached agreement with the 6-5, 232-pound quarterback on a six-year contract worth $40 million on Thursday.
MORE (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=12845860)
By John Pezzullo SportsTicker Pro Football Editor
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) - The Cincinnati Bengals are quite happy with Carson Palmer. But who will embrace Byron Leftwich in the 2003 NFL Draft?
The tale of two quarterbacks will commence with the Bengals selecting Palmer with the first overall pick on Saturday. While the media engulfs the Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California, Leftwich will continue to wonder about his destination.
Palmer does not have Leftwich's arm strength, but is more mobile and is regarded by most scouts as the better pure passer. Plus Leftwich's injury history at Marshall will cause some coaches and general managers to shy away.
The 6-5 1/2, 241-pound quarterback suffered a stress fracture in his left leg in 2001 and had a rod inserted into his tibia. Last November in a game against Akron, he took a hit on the leg, creating a hairline fracture in the same bone. Yet he returned to play the second half and four more games with the leg still broken and averaged 318 yards and threw for four touchdowns.
The Bengals held discussions with Palmer, Leftwich and Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman, but they wanted Palmer all along and reached agreement with the 6-5, 232-pound quarterback on a six-year contract worth $40 million on Thursday.
MORE (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=12845860)