When Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports reported that former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer had become the subject of trade talks between the Oakland Raiders front office and Mike Brown, owner of the Bengals, it just didn't make sense.
While many fans will just remember Palmer at his best and what he could potentially bring to the Raiders you have to remember that Palmer's' last good season was way back in 2007. Not to mention the fact that he's not been playing at all this season and you can't just stroll into a NFL camp and take over as quarterback like it's not a big deal. It just doesn't work that way.
While it could very easily make sense for the Raiders to make a big move because they have a team built to win right now, you have to realize that it would take Palmer at least a full month in practice before he'd be able to step on the field. In that time the Raiders would have played Kansas City, Denver and San Diego. It's good that the Raiders have their bye week after this weekends' match-up with the Chiefs, but it's still not realistic to think that Palmer would be able to play until after the San Diego game.
That's nine games into the Raiders' season in which they'd be turning their hopes to a guy that hadn't played football in quite a while. Would it just be better to try Kyle Boller as the starter and get some snaps for Terrelle Pryor in there as well? If you take into account the money involved, along with the Raiders having to throw in another draft pick(s), after already not having picks in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round next year and you don't have a lot of incentive to wage Carson Palmers' possible success against the price you'd be paying on the chance that he'd play more like the 2007 Carson Palmer, and not the guy we've seen since.
It'd be a hell of a gamble for the Raiders to take a chance on Palmer, but it's the kind of move that sets the Raiders apart from other NFL franchises. They have a team that's ready to win now and they are stuck between having to be patient with Pryor while not wanting to be patient with Boller.
David Garrard is the much safer choice for the Raiders if they do choose to bring in someone. He won't cost them a draft pick and wouldn't cost as much to sign. He might not have the upside but he could help the Raiders' have a much smaller leash for Boller, and provide a bridge to Pryor, should he be ready to take some snaps at any point in the season.