During Monday’s Raiders-Bengals edition of PFT Live, FOX’s Jay Glazer said that the Bengals get a second first-round pick if the Raiders win a playoff game in 2011. Otherwise, the Bengals get a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-round pick in 2013. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen also has reported these basic terms.
Here are a few quick takes regarding the deal.
1. With the new CBA implementing a real rookie wage scale, first-round picks are worth more than they were before 2011, especially in the upper reaches of the round. Teams can now acquire blue-chip talent at far lower pay, squatting on them for at least five years. At a time when not many players have been yielding first-round picks via trade, the possibility that the Raiders will give up two of them for Palmer is stunning.
2. Even if Palmer stinks and the Raiders otherwise make it to the postseason and win one game, the compensation becomes two first-rounders. It’s unknown whether the Raiders pressed for a trigger based on Palmer’s performance, but given the way he played last year, it would have made sense to get such protection.
2. The Broncos may be kicking themselves for sending receiver Brandon Lloyd to the Rams for a sixth-round pick that can become a fifth-round pick. After the Palmer deal, it seems that maybe the Broncos could have done better.
3. Or not. The Palmer trade could make it difficult if not impossible to get any more trades accomplished before this year’s deadline, since the team with the player who would be traded will (or at least should) start the talks by pointing out what the Raiders gave up for Palmer.
4. Palmer reportedly has said he’ll never again set foot in Paul Brown Stadium. Under the current scheduling formula, he will next year.
5. If the Raiders win the AFC West and the Bengals capture a wild-card berth, Cincy could face a no-lose situation in the postseason, if the playoff tree sends Cincinnati to Oakland. Win the game and advance, lose the game and get a second first-round pick.
6. As Paul Gutierrez of CSN Bay Area pointed out during PFT Live, Raiders coach Hue Jackson clearly is running the show in Oakland. And he’s taking a big risk that Palmer won’t be worth the price that was paid. Which could eventually limit Jackson’s influence, if Palmer doesn’t deliver.
7. As Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer pointed out during PFT Live, the Bengals ultimately can thank the Browns for helping the Bengals get up to two first-round picks for Palmer. If the Browns don’t break Jason Campbell’s collarbone, Palmer doesn’t get traded until 2012, at the earliest.
8. Palmer’s decision not to file retirement papers made it easier for the deal to go down quickly, since Palmer didn’t have to send a letter to the Commissioner with a request to be reinstated to the active roster.
9. If receiver Chad Ochocinco gets cut by the Patriots, his beeline to the Bay may not happen. There’s a belief that Palmer has had enough of Chad, and that Palmer wouldn’t want to play with him again.
10. Terrelle Pryor’s career is now on hold indefinitely, unless he enters the game in a Wildcat package or plays another position.
11. Carson Palmer eventually got what he wanted, without drawing much criticism. As others in the media have pointed out, it’s hard to imagine other players essentially quitting on their team to force a trade and not being called out aggressively.