By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals continued discussions Wednesday with the agents of three possible first overall draft choices.

The Bengals held preliminary talks with representatives for quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Byron Leftwich, and agent David Ware said he and the Bengals started discussions Wednesday about his client, cornerback Terence Newman.

"We talked about how they were determining value," Ware said Wednesday night. "We will talk again (today)."

Palmer, from Southern California, and Newman, from Kansas State, are the Bengals' top two priorities. Leftwich, who played for Marshall, is the third option.

It is believed that Palmer is the first option.

Agents for Palmer and Leftwich did not return phone messages left Wednesday at their offices.

The Bengals, who have the first overall pick in the April 26 draft, would like to have the player signed before their pick is announced. The Bengals are allowed, by NFL rules, to negotiate with any player prior to the draft because they hold the No. 1 pick.

The Bengals are not commenting, but team executive vice president Katie Blackburn and her husband, Troy Blackburn, the club's director of business development, are handling negotiations.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said recently that the team has not received any serious trade offers and would take the best player available.

The starting point for any deal with the No. 1 draft choice is believed to be similar to the one signed last year by the first overall pick, Houston Texans quarterback David Carr.

Carr received a base contract of $21.5 million over seven years. He received a two-part signing bonus (payments in 2002 and 2003) totaling $14 million. Counting incentives, the overall package has a potential value of $58 million.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com