Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Two days after they lost starting quarterback Jason Campbell to a broken collarbone, the Oakland Raiders acquired Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for two draft picks.
Palmer, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, hasn’t played since requesting a trade from the Bengals after a 4-12 record last season. Palmer told Cincinnati television station WCPO in March that he’d rather retire than rejoin the Bengals, who replaced him with rookie Andy Dalton and have a 4-2 record this year.
The Bengals will get a first-round draft choice in 2012 and a second-round selection in 2013 from the Raiders.
“Several factors made us believe that trading Carson to Oakland was the best move for the Bengals at this time,” Bengals president Mike Brown said yesterday in a statement. “The principal development has been Andy Dalton, who has shown himself to be one of the best and most exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL.”
Palmer, 31, had 22,694 yards passing and 154 touchdown throws over seven seasons in Cincinnati and gives the Raiders an experienced replacement for Campbell, who had led the team to a 4-2 start. Palmer said he received a text message at 4 a.m. telling him the two sides agreed to the trade.
“I understand what’s expected of me,” Palmer said at a news conference yesterday in Oakland. “I want to come in and contribute and do whatever I can to help this team.”
Oakland, which featured quarterbacks such as Daryle Lamonica, Ken Stabler and Jim Plunkett in the 1970s and ‘80s, hasn’t finished with a winning record or made the National Football League playoffs since the 2002 season.
When Campbell was injured in this past weekend’s win against Cleveland, the Raiders’ remaining quarterbacks were Kyle Boller and Terrelle Pryor. The Raiders last year released quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, after he won seven games in three seasons with the team.
By trading next year’s first-round pick for Palmer, the Raiders would be left with only fifth- and sixth-round selections in 2012. Oakland previously dealt a fourth-round pick to the Washington Redskins to acquire Campbell last year and gave up their 2012 third-round choice to take Pryor out of Ohio State in the NFL’s supplemental draft.
“I never hesitated because I knew exactly what I was getting,” said Raiders coach Hue Jackson, who recruited Palmer at the University of Southern California and was a receivers coach in Cincinnati from 2004 to 2006. “I know what we’re putting on this football team.”
Palmer won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s best player at USC and was the first pick in the 2003 NFL draft. He’s agreed to restructure the $118.75 million contract extension he signed with the Bengals in 2005, ESPN said, citing unidentified people.
Palmer has been working out in Southern California with former New York Jets quarterback Ken O’Brien. While Jackson wouldn’t say whether Palmer might play in this week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Palmer said he’s ready to go.
“I’ve worked out, I’ve continued to stay focused on football and keep my mind on football,” Palmer said. “I haven’t been playing it for six weeks, but my mind has been in it. I’m ready to go and I’m excited.”
Palmer passed for 3,970 yards, 26 touchdowns and 20 interceptions for the Bengals last season. He was voted to the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2005, when he threw for 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to lead Cincinnati to an 11-5 record, and topped 4,000 passing yards in each of the next two seasons. Palmer had a 46-51 record as the Bengals’ starter.
The NFL’s trade deadline was at 4 p.m. New York time yesterday. The Philadelphia Eagles traded Ronnie Brown to the Detroit Lions for Jerome Harrison in a swap of backup running backs. The St. Louis Rams a day earlier had acquired wide receiver Brandon Lloyd from the Denver Broncos for a 2012 draft pick.
To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net
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