By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The question of who will start at quarterback for the Bengals will not be decided on the field. There will be no training camp competition.

Coach Marvin Lewis said Thursday that either Jon Kitna or Carson Palmer would most likely be selected as the starter before the team meets for its first of two spring minicamps in May.

Asked if the choice would be made after getting a good look at both quarterbacks, Lewis said, "We're probably not going to do that. We're probably going to make a decision and say, 'This is the way we're going to go.'

"When that decision is going to come, (it) probably won't be public until it's time to go on the field."

The Bengals will hold their first minicamp - the voluntary one - over the weekend of May 15-16.

The mandatory minicamp will be held in early June.

Lewis made a quick decision last February to give Kitna the job to lose, and Kitna was the only NFL quarterback to play each of his team's offensive snaps in 2003.

The job was indeed Kitna's to lose, and asked if the 2004 quarterback would enjoy the same opportunity and job security, Lewis said, "Right. I just think that is better for our football team and, you know, the best for us to go forward."

Though Kitna had a career-high 26 touchdown passes and was selected as a second alternate for the Pro Bowl, Lewis did not commit the job to Kitna in his postseason news conference on Dec. 29. Lewis' comments were interpreted as opening the door for Palmer to become the starter.

Kitna is a seven-year veteran and has told club management that he would renegotiate the final season of his four-year contract. He has a $4.375 million salary cap number in 2004. Kitna said he and his family would like to stay in Greater Cincinnati.

Palmer was the first overall pick of the 2003 draft after winning the Heisman Trophy at Southern Cal for his performance in 2002.

"They're not in the most enviable position," Kitna said Thursday of the Bengals. "They draft the No. 1 quarterback, and then the other quarterback goes out and comes on with the team."

The Bengals finished 8-8 after going 2-14 in 2002.

Kitna won the Bengals' training camp quarterback competition in 2001 against Scott Mitchell and Akili Smith. He lost the job in 2002 to Gus Frerotte and replaced Frerotte and Smith to start the final 12 games.

Kitna applauded Lewis' decision to name a starter early.

"If they had said there was going to be a quarterback competition, I would have told them I would be the No. 2 guy," Kitna said. "I've seen what happens when you don't settle on a guy.

"Training camp competitions are not good for the team."

Palmer did not return messages left Thursday on his home and cell phones.

Palmer had said during the season that he and Kitna had an outstanding, productive relationship and that he has learned from watching Kitna play on the field and work in the classroom.

Kitna has started 43 games in three seasons with the Bengals. In the past two seasons, Kitna has thrown 42 touchdowns and 31 interceptions.

"Me, personally, I'm very content with what I've done on the field the last two years," said Kitna, who was voted NFL Comeback Player of the Year last week for 2003. "If they want to go another direction, I'm not going to sit here and campaign for the job."

Kitna said he would accept whatever decision coaches made as God's will. "And if it isn't God's will," he said, "it will change soon enough."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com