We haven’t heard much from Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer after the Raiders shook up their front office and coaching staff, but he broke his silence in a radio interview on Wednesday.
Palmer, who came to Oakland in a trade engineered by former head coach Hue Jackson, said that he was “happy” to return to the Raiders. That should quiet any whispers that Palmer isn’t happy about the change to Dennis Allen and the overall shift in direction Oakland has taken this offseason. Palmer said he’s looking forward to the season and also looking forward to the chance to validate the hefty price the Raiders paid to acquire him.
Palmer won’t have a chance to work with Allen until April, but he doesn’t think the change in coaches will have a negative impact on the team. Quite the opposite, actually.
“As far as being close to a playoff team, it’s more than that,” Palmer said, via Steve Corkran of the Bay Area News Group. “We’re close to a championship team. There’s a lot of work that needs to be put in and a lot of hurdles that we need to get over, but we need to be heading into this season thinking more than just playoffs.”
The only rub could be the work the Raiders have to do to get under the cap by March 13th. While the outlook isn’t as gloomy as it might appear on the surface, the fact remains that the team likely won’t have a lot of money to spend to bolster the roster. They are also short on draft picks which means that they’ll need better performances from holdovers like Palmer if they are going to make their first playoff trip since 2002.