Following the 2010 season, a report came out that Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer would retire if the team didn't trade him. Shortly after that Bengals ownership said they wouldn't be giving into Palmer's threat and he would not be traded.

We're not sure if anything has changed but Geoff Hobson of the Bengals official site writes that it's "believed" the Bengals are taking his threat "quite seriously".

It's believed the Bengals are taking Carson Palmer's threat to be traded or retire quite seriously and that they are kicking the tires on all kinds of options. They want Palmer to return and believe he is their best chance to win, but everyone is also expecting them to take a close look at the top quarterbacks at the combine.

The question is does taking the threat "quite seriously" mean they would trade him, or simply allow him to retire. Nobody, including Bengals' Andrew Whitworth, knows how it will end up.

"I think they're taking him seriously," he said. "He's not the kind of guy who's going to come out and voice something like that without thinking it through. You don't know the answers, but I don't think anybody thinks Carson Palmer is an irrational guy. You have to take a guy like that seriously. I don't know how it will play out."

To follow along with this story, check out SB Nation's Cincy Jungle.