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Raiders pushing ‘hard’ for Palmer trade
Before improving to 4-2, the Oakland Raiders lit an eternal flame to honor the late Al Davis. After Sunday’s 24-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns, the team is apparently still channeling Davis’ aggressive spirit. As the NFL trading deadline looms Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, the Raiders are attempting to fill a black hole at the NFL’s most critical position by approaching Cincinnati about quarterback Carson Palmer.
According to a source familiar with the team’s thinking, the Raiders were “trying hard” to make a deal for Palmer, although the source highly doubted that Cincinnati owner Mike Brown would deal Palmer. Oakland quarterback Jason Campbell left the game with a broken collarbone and could miss the remainder of the season. That leaves the Raiders as a playoff competitor with a shaky quarterback situation. Kyle Boller is the starter and Terrelle Pryor, who just became eligible last week after a five-game suspension, is the backup.
That caused the Raiders to hit the phones quickly after the game Sunday, hoping to get the “retired” Palmer, who has been pushing for a deal since early in the offseason. In fact, Palmer politely asked Brown again this week for a trade, according to a source close to the situation. So far, no go. In all likelihood, Brown will continue to stonewall. Brown has never been a guy to give in to demands, even when they are logical. Bengals fans probably remember the package of draft picks, including at least one first-rounder and another pick that likely would have become a No. 1, Brown once turned down for wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.
Beyond that, Brown might not be willing to trade Palmer to a team that he perceives as a potential playoff competitor. As the first source alluded to Sunday night after Campbell got hurt, you can point a gun at Brown’s head and he won’t flinch.
In this situation, Davis likely would pull out some serious stops. But the Raiders are in a bit of a quandary right now because they don’t have second-, third- or fourth-round picks in 2012 because of a series of moves (they used the third-rounder for Pryor in the supplemental draft, for instance).
In this situation, the Raiders would do well to offer Cincinnati a third-round pick in 2013 that could increase in value to a second- or even first-round pick if Palmer performed well either this year or in 2012.
Palmer hasn’t played very well since the 2007 season and there are lingering questions about his right elbow. Still, with Palmer there is a chance for something good and it’s clear he’s better than Campbell, even without much time to prepare.
Oakland coach Hue Jackson knows Palmer from their days together in Cincinnati. Jackson was the wide receivers coach for the Bengals from 2004-06, when Palmer was just getting started as a player. Jackson privately told people close to him that he would be interested in Palmer once Brown was willing to deal.
Well, the Raiders need to find out now and they need to find out in a hurry.
Source: Yahoo Sports