Carson Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the 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.

Carson Palmer was born in Fresno, California and attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Orange County, California. As well as football, Palmer was an avid basketball player, and was named to the Student Sports Grid-Hoops All-America second team.

Carson Palmer arrived at the University of Southern California in 1998 and immediately competed for the starting quarterback job with Mike Van Raaphorst. Van Raaphorst won, but due to his ineffectiveness, Palmer was named the starter in the ninth game of the season, becoming only the second true freshman to ever start as quarterback for the Trojans.