When the Cincinnati Bengals selected TCU’s Andy Dalton in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft, it was a clear indication that the Carson Palmer era was over for them. Palmer demanded a trade but Bengals President Mike Brown refused to reward his franchise QB by sending him elsewhere to win. Thus, Palmer retired and Brown made it clear for the past six months that he was not going to trade the guy who took them to the playoffs a whopping 2 times.
And yesterday, of course, Brown traded Palmer to the Oakland Raiders. If his goal was to punish Palmer, Brown failed. Miami probably would have made a similar deal. Instead, Palmer winds up with the 4-2 Raiders, who are seemingly stocked with young talent on offense. Take that, crybaby!
“For the past six weeks I thought I was retired,” Palmer said after being introduced to media as a Raider on Tuesday. “Week 1 hit and I thought, I’ve got to look elsewhere and find what the next phase of my life might be. Then I got the text from Hue.
“I’m ready to go. I’m excited… I’m excited to be a part of this organization.”
(Via USA Today)
Palmer is clearly excited, as the 31-year old gets a fresh start to show that he’s more than just a guy who once won a Pro Bowl MVP. But Raiders coach Hue Jackson is beyond excited, as he grabbed the hyperbole gun and started firing bullets of awesome into our faces.
In a stroke of bravado reminiscent of late team owner Al Davis, Jackson called the deal “the greatest trade in football.”
“As far as the draft picks, what we have to give up, I never hesitated because I know exactly what I’m getting,” said Jackson, who was an assistant in Cincinnati from 2004-06. “I don’t think you’re ever mortgating the future when you put a big-time franchise quarterback on your team.”
The greatest trade in football. Yesterday? I’ll give him that. This season? Maybe. I mean, let’s be real here:
2005: 11-5 record, 3,836 yards, 32 TDs, 12 INT, 101.1 rating
2006: 8-8 record, 4,035 yards, 28 TDs, 13 INT, 93.9 rating
2007: 7-9 record, 4,131 yards, 26 TDs, 20 INT, 86.7 rating
2008: Off to a terrible start before his season-ending knee injury.
2009: 10-6 record, 3,094 yards, 21 TDs, 13 INT, 83.6 rating
2010: 4-12 record, 3,970 yards, 26 TDs, 20 INT, 82.4 rating
It seems like the Bengals were better when they got less from Palmer, but I think we need to at least see how the guy looks before we start dropping the soap. But I’ll give Jackson and Palmer a little credit – this has the makings of something dirty. So if you live in or around Oakland, maybe buy some Kevlar.
