Raiders Acquire Carson Palmer

After vowing to retire instead of playing another down with Cincinnati, Carson Palmer was traded to the Oakland Raiders by the Bengals today for one and possibly two first round picks in the 2012 draft. The Raiders lost starting QB Jason Campbell to a season-ending collar bone injury on Sunday.

It was going to take a blockbuster for any team to acquire Carson Palmer, and it seems the Oakland Raiders were the party to do it.

The Bengals and Raiders were expected to complete a trade before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline that would send quarterback Carson Palmer to Oakland for draft picks, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Enquirer.

Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the trade under discussion would bring the Bengals a first-round pick in the 2012 draft and a conditional pick in 2013. The 2013 pick could become a first-rounder if certain incentives are met.

Palmer, the top overall pick in the 2003 draft and a a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, told the Bengals in the offseason he would retire if not traded. Bengals president Mike Brown said before the season started he would not trade Palmer.

“Carson signed a contract; he made a commitment,” Brown said in July. “If he is going to walk away from his commitment, we aren’t going to reward him for doing it.”

Brown reiterated that stance to The Enquirer last week: “I’ve had my say on that, and that remains all there is to say.”

But the Raiders’ interest in Palmer intensified when starting quarterback Jason Campbell suffered a broken collarbone on Sunday, putting him out indefinitely.

Raiders coach Hue Jackson has a long relationship with Palmer, helping recruit him to the University of Southern California and serving as a Bengals assistant for three seasons under Marvin Lewis.

Jackson also has a good relationship with Brown, which helped get Brown to move off his no-trade stance.

Jackson also helped recruit Palmer to the University of Southern California.

Neither Palmer nor his agent, David Dunn, immediately returned text messages.

Over his eight seasons in Cincinnati, Palmer was 46-51 as a starter. He holds the career franchise records for completion percentage (62.9) and passer rating (86.9). He is third in attempts (3,217), yards (22,694), touchdown passes (154), interceptions (103) and 300-yard games (17) and second in completions (2,204).

Palmer was slated to make $11 million this season, $11.5 million in 2012, $13 million in 2013 and $14 million in 2014. He and the Raiders will likely renegotiate the deal, with the Raiders over the NFL’s salary cap.

Oakland, 4-2, which plays host to Kansas City on Sunday, also has quarterbacks Kyle Boller and rookie Terrelle Pryor from Ohio State on the roster.

The Raiders are scheduled to visit Cincinnati next season.

[Cincinnati.com]