Hines Ward on Rival Bengals' Moves: 'I Feel for Carson [Palmer]'

This week's acquisition of Terrell Owens by the Cincinnati Bengals brought a lot of talk about the defending AFC North champions. After all, the Bengals already had Chad Ochocinco running around, and they signed veteran Antonio Bryant earlier in the offseason.

Everyone in Cincinnati is saying all the right things as training camp gets going, but the potential for disaster here is so obvious that even a star player on one of the Bengals' biggest rivals felt the need to speak out Saturday. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was asked about Owens' signing Saturday, and he didn't hold back.

Ward's attention was focused on quarterback Carson Palmer, the man who will be responsible for keeping all three top receivers happy.

"(Terrell Owens), Antonio (Bryant) and Chad (Ochocinco) together? I feel for Carson (Palmer). We'll see how Carson handles that."

ShareSurely, this is the reaction of many around the NFL to Cincinnati's decision to sign Owens. The Owens-Bryant-Ochocinco trio are all top talents who have been No. 1 receivers in their careers. Ochocinco and Owens are two of the league's biggest personalities, players who love the spotlight and who aren't known for their ability to share that spotlight well.

They continue to laugh off those who say their egos will cause trouble with the Bengals, and head coach Marvin Lewis insists he can handle it.

In the end, winning will cure it all. As long as the Bengals are successful, it won't matter how big the egos of their top receivers are, and it won't matter how many times Palmer gets each of them the football.

Of course, the tune will be different if the team struggles.

That's the chance Cincinnati is taking here, and Ward knows it. So does everyone else. The Bengals might look like a favorite in the AFC North, but Baltimore and Pittsburgh plan to have something to say about it.