We get it. The Raiders’ front office inherited a mess last season. The former regime – Hue Jackson and Co. – ponied up a bounty of picks to acquire Carson Palmer in 2011 (see introductory news conference above) and he never lived up to his lofty expectations. The Raiders traded a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-rounder in 2013 to the Bengals for Palmer in 2011. On Tuesday, the Raiders traded a late-round pick and a conditional pick in 2014 to the Cardinals for Palmer. Confused, yet? What a mess. Well, Palmer was due over $13 mill in 2013 and he wasn’t budging to take a pay cut, which triggered a domino-like effect of transactions. After a long weekend of negotiations, the first domino fell on Monday …
The Oakland Raiders have acquired quarterback Matt Flynn in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. bit.ly/16fsG8v — OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) April 1, 2013
This move makes sense for the Raiders. They had an unhappy QB, Palmer, on the books and needed to fill a gaping hole under center, if they were to move the veteran. Although Flynn doesn’t have much regular season experience, he could be the steady hand that Raiders head coach Dennis Allen is looking for. Is he the long-term answer? That’s to be debated. As the negotiations between the Raiders and Cardinals inched closer, Arizona made a move to make room for Palmer.
The @azcardinals have released QB John Skelton.#AZCards — Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) April 1, 2013
Then, a report surfaced that Palmer and Cardinals’ brass were breaking bread on Monday night.
Carson Palmer was in Arizona Monday night, had dinner with #azcardinals execs. — Kent Somers (@kentsomers) April 2, 2013
Sources: deal with#azcardinals not done yet. Positive sign, I would think, that Palmer is in AZ and not for Dbax opener — Kent Somers (@kentsomers) April 2, 2013
Finally, on Tuesday the deal was made and Palmer became an Arizona Cardinal.
The @azcardinals have acquired QB Carson Palmer from the @raiders.#AZCards #nfl — Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) April 2, 2013
The Oakland Raiders have traded QB Carson Palmer to the Arizona Cardinals. raiders.com/news/article-1… — OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) April 2, 2013
The Cardinals scheduled a press conference to introduce the QB, but it looks like he was making moves as soon as he got to the facility.
The Raiders, who hold the No.3 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, could select a QB to challenge Flynn for the starting job. Oh wait, haven’t we seen that before?
