There’s more than a good chance that was the last we’ve seen of him in orange and black stripes.

Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Benson was “not pleased” with his role in the offense this past season, leading “many” to believe that he’s played his final snap in Cincy.

It seems Benson, an impending free agent, would agree with that sentiment.

“I don’t know what the future’s going to hold. You never know going into being a free agent, things like that,” said Benson, who signed a one-year deal during last training camp to remain with the team. “I don’t have any closed doors, so we’ll see what the future holds.”

Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden insisted on using Bernard Scott down the stretch, leading to Benson’s diminished production. Despite finishing with a 1,000+ yard campaign — his third in as many seasons — the seventh-year vet’s highest output of the year (125 yards) came all the way back in Week 1.

Reedy suggests that the Bengals could be in the market for his replacement this offseason, be it in free agency or via the draft. If they go the latter route with one of their two first-round selections, Alabama’s Trent Richardson and Miami’s Lamar Miller are two players that may be on their shortlist.

In either case, it’s likely time for Cincy to move on from Cedric.

Reportedly, Oakland has a certain someone in mind for the job, but need to work diligently if they’re going to get him off of his couch and into the Black Hole.

Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Cole, citing a team source, reports that the Raiders were “trying hard” Sunday night to trade for ‘retired’ Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. The league’s trade deadline is Tuesday afternoon.

Although Cole’s source “highly doubts” Cincy owner Mike Brown would deal Palmer, Raiders coach Hue Jackson “hit the phones quickly” upon learning of Campbell’s prognosis, and could have an edge in landing Palmer considering his prior connections with the Bengals. Jackson was their wide receivers coach from 2004-2006.

The Palmer-Brown standoff was one of the most intriguing storylines earlier in the offseason, with the 31-year-old requesting a trade and threatening to never step foot onto Paul Brown Stadium again if he doesn’t get one. Brown hasn’t budged, even when Palmer supposedly asked again this week to be dealt.

Even if Brown were willing to move Palmer, Oakland might not have the proper ammunition to execute said trade. Cole threw around the idea of the Raiders offering a conditional third-round draft pick in 2013 that could escalate to a second or first-rounder, depending on Palmer’s performance.

However, in all probability, it’s inevitably a moot point. Brown seems entrenched in his stance, and certainly wouldn’t give up his biggest bargaining chip to another contending team in the AFC. At the end of the season, both squads could be battling for a wildcard spot and Palmer would love nothing more than to stick it to Brown.

Stranger things have definitely happened, though, so only the remaining time until the deadline will tell whether or not this comes to fruition. All things considered, the Raider faithful should not hold their breath.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bengals signed Leon Hall to a four-year, $39 million extension Friday.

The deal, which include $14.1 million in guarantees, ensures he’s under the team’s control through 2015.

Cincy’s first-round pick in 2007, Hall has yet to miss a game for the Bengals, starting in 48 consecutive contests over the last three seasons. In his five-year career, Hall has recorded 258 tackles, 71 passes defensed, 18 interceptions, and five forced fumbles.

Although he is not mentioned in the same breath as Darrelle Revis or Nnamdi Asomugha, Hall is still one of the NFL’s best cover corners, and only 26-years-old.

He should continue to shine in Cincinnati’s secondary for the life of this contract.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Seahawks traded corner Kelly Jennings to the Bengals in exchange for defensive tackle Clinton McDonald.

Jennings, the ‘Hawks 2006 first-round pick, was a consistent member of Seattle’s secondary, starting all 16 games in every season but 2010 (14 games). He’s been bit of a disappointment considering his draft status, only recording two interceptions in his career, despite notching 47 pass breakups.

In Cincinnati, Jennings will step into the nickelback role with Jones on the shelf until midseason. He’ll play behind incumbent starters Leon Hall and Nate Clements, but doesn’t possess nearly the same athletic ability as the man he’s essentially replacing.

Jennings proved to be susceptible to the big play every now and then, so teams with deadly slot receivers will have a definite advantage in that department. Though, for $1.835 million — Jennings’ 2011 salary — they could’ve done worse in acquiring a fill-in.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Niners have traded Mays to the Bengals in exchange for an undisclosed draft selection. In other words, likely a late-round pick.

Nearly three weeks ago, San Francisco let it be known in a league-wide email that Mays was available for the right price. It took a little while, but the former USC Trojan eventually found an interested taker.

Mays, the 49th overall pick in 2010, was a highly-touted player in college, but showed little during his brief professional career, recording just 39 tackles and a forced fumble in 16 games last season.

He wasn’t a good fit under former coach Mike Singletary and the new regime — led by Jim Harbaugh — obviously didn’t want to be burdened with a player they weren’t going to include in the team’s future plans.

With the Bengals, Mays should stay put at safety — despite those who think he’d make a better linebacker — but won’t supplant Chris Crocker or Reggie Nelson as a starter any time soon.

According to ESPN’s John Clayton, the Pats acquired receiver Chad Ochocinco from the Bengals. The terms of the deal aren’t known, but Ochocinco has accepted a restructured three-year deal from New England.

Per Adam Schefter, Cincinnati will receive two late-round picks — one in 2012 and one in 2013 — as compensation.

Ocho, who was reportedly on a plane headed to Boston, was due to earn $6.35 million this season. The reworked contract was key in order for him to fit under the Patriots’ cap.

Long rumored to be on his way out of Cincy, the receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson gets his wish of joining Bill Belichick in Foxborough.

In the New England’s multi-faceted offense, Ochocinco could be lined up anywhere on the field. While he’s past his prime and not the receiver he once was, he can still get downfield and create mismatches for opposing defenses.

Despite critics who have bashed these two moves, the Patriots came away with two veteran players who can immediately help the team.

According to Ricky Doyle of Your News Now, Benson was arrested in Austin, Texas early Sunday morning for “assault on a family member.” Doyle states that Benson was charged with a Class A misdemeanor and is currently being held in the Travis County jail.

There are no further details as of yet.

Last year, Benson — a University of Texas alum — was also arrested in Austin for allegedly punching a bar employee. He was booked into the same jail on a misdemeanor assault charge and was eventually released after posting $5,000 bond. Both incidents are eerily similar to each other.

Benson was angling for a new contract when the lockout ends. Now with his latest mishap, which is absolutely par for the course for the Bengals, he may have lost some of his value as an unrestricted free agent.

Commissioner Roger Goodell is keeping a close eye on arrests during the work stoppage and may impose a suspension on Benson, something the former Bengals back narrowly avoided last year.

UPDATE: Police have confirmed they arrested Benson and levied a charge of misdemeanor assault with bodily injury against him. The only caveat being the victim was not a family member, but a former male roommate of Benson’s.

Despite Palmer’s declaration that he’ll never play for the Bengals again, owner Mike Brown continues to insist he’s not giving in to the 31-year-old’s trade demands.

Per NFL.com, Brown spoke on the subject at the league’s annual Spring Meetings in Indianapolis on Monday, and once again confirmed that he has no intentions of dealing the disgruntled Palmer.

“We don’t plan to trade Carson,” Brown said Monday at the NFL Spring Meeting. “He’s important to us. He’s a very fine player, and we do want him to come back. If he chooses not to, he’d retire. And we would go with Andy Dalton, the younger player we drafted, who’s a good prospect.

“Ideally, we’d have both of them. That’d be the best way to go forward. If we don’t have Carson, we’ll go with Andy.”

Because of the NFL’s lockout, Palmer and the Bengals organization cannot formally speak, so each side has used the media to express their respective stances. All along, Brown has said he wants Palmer back and that he has no plans to ship off the former number one overall pick.

Palmer, on the other hand, took extreme steps in hopes of forcing his way out. After initially demanding a trade in January, which was subsequently denied by Brown, Palmer sold his home in Cincinnati and eventually claimed he’ll “never set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again.”

As a backup plan, the team drafted TCU signal-caller Andy Dalton with the 35th overall pick of April’s Draft. Apparently, they already feel Dalton has what it takes to succeed as the starter right out of the gate.

“He’s very football intelligent, he’s been with our coaches, and Jay Gruden, our coordinator,” Brown said. “Jay had a very good feeling about his football abilities, his abilities to understand the defenses and how to go about things. He’d been productive at the college level, and we think he has a good shot at it here.”

For the time being, no player movement is allowed, meaning the organization couldn’t unload Palmer even if they wanted to. Both sides are standing strong behind their words and show no signs of giving in.

It’s looking like Palmer’s only choices for the upcoming season are to remain in Cincinnati or retire altogether. Though, with the current state of the sport, who knows what can and will happen in the coming months.

Instead, Cincy selected Georgia WR A.J. Green at No. 4 overall.

Green, regarded as the best receiver in this year’s class, could be among the elite in a few years, based on his skillset alone. He racked up 23 touchdowns in his career, and showed explosive ability in almost every game for the Bulldogs.

With Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens likely out the door, Green fills a need on a stagnant offense. They just better hope there’s a quarterback that can get him the ball.

Ryan Mallett

With Carson Palmer as disgruntled as ever, quarterback is suddenly a position of need for the Cincinnati Bengals.

They don’t have the option of acquiring another veteran until the CBA gets worked out, prompting some prognosticators, including the local media, to believe they’ll be undergoing a youth movement at the position.

The Cincinnati Enquirer anticipates the Bengals selecting a quarterback in one of the first two rounds of next month’s NFL Draft.

Cincy holds the fourth overall pick and could have their choice of a top prospect, depending on how the chips fall. Auburn’s Cam Newton and Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert are two possibilities if they make it past Carolina, Denver, and Buffalo with the first three picks.

Should the Bengals wait until the second-round to nab their signal-caller, they will likely pursue Arkansas’s Ryan Mallett, TCU’s Andy Dalton, FSU’s Christian Ponder, Washington’s Jake Locker, or Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick with the 35th overall pick.

Mallett is scheduled to visit with the team on Thursday and Friday. Newton and Auburn’s Nick Fairley have also confirmed visits.