It’s trade deadline day, and it’s time to wake up.
The Raiders want Carson Palmer, and the Raiders just might get Carson Palmer.
Jay Glazer of FOX reports that the Raiders are close to a deal that would send Palmer from the Bengals to Oakland for a first-round draft pick and a conditional future pick. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the conditional pick is a 2013 first-round selection.
It’s not known what will trigger a second first-round pick. It could be based on Palmer’s personal achievements, or it could be based on the Raiders’ success, for example getting to or winning the Super Bowl.
Raiders coach Hue Jackson previously worked for the Bengals. Glazer says that Jackson worked Bengals owner Mike Brown hard to get the deal done.
Jackson must have been very persuasive. The Raiders are 4-2 and the Bengals are 4-2. Both teams are positioning for the playoffs, and if the Raiders don’t win the AFC West, they could swipe a playoff spot from the Bengals.
The Raiders will have to scramble to fit Palmer’s prorated $11 million base salary under the salary cap. As of early October, the Raiders had $6.1 million in cap space.
The fact that the Raiders have given up a first-round pick, and possibly two, means that Palmer isn’t a one-year rental. And that could mean the Raiders don’t particularly like what they’ve seen so far from Terrelle Pryor, who now lands in line behind Palmer on the succession plan.
The move, if it happens, also likely means that Jason Campbell’s time as a Raider is over, and that if he returns from his broken collarbone before the end of the season, he’ll be sitting behind Palmer -- unless Palmer stinks it up.