Despite reports that the Raiders could have to send their 2013 first-round draft pick to the Bengals in the Carson Palmer trade, Oakland is locked into sending only its 2013 second-round pick to Cincinnati.
A Raiders official told Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times that the Raiders, who already traded away this year’s first-round pick for Palmer, will conclude the trade by sending next year’s second-round pick to the Bengals.
Previous reports that the Bengals could get the Raiders’ first-round pick if Palmer led Oakland to the AFC Championship Game were apparently incorrect: The Bengals’ compensation will be the Raiders’ 2012 first-round pick and the Raiders’ 2013 second-round pick, and there’s no chance for the 2013 pick to be upgraded to a first-rounder.
Palmer believes that the Raiders and Bengals both won in the trade. At the cost of a first-round pick and a second-round pick, he’ll have to play well for the Raiders for years to come if he wants most people to agree with him.