With Carson Palmer due $13 million next year, the Raiders need to make a decision about whether he will be leading the team into the future. Putting his performance against the Falcons under the microscope is a good start to answering the question of whether he is worth keeping.
The Raiders offense is very young. Denarius Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey are still playing on the rookie contracts, and Darren McFadden is only 25 years old. Palmer provides veteran stability with his crisp play execution and excellent anticipation on timing throws that are the bread and butter of an NFL passing offense. He makes a long completion to rookie undrafted free agent Rod Streater on a deep comeback that requires him to release the ball as Moore is making his break:
This demonstrates not only timing and chemistry with a young developing receiver that Palmer has been playing with for all of one year, it shows that he has the arm strength to throw longer routes outside of the numbers. Streater was able to make the catch in tight coverage from Dunta Robinson, which has to help his confidence going forward.
Another reason to keep Palmer is his pocket presence and underrated ability to move in the pocket. Here, Kroy Biermann is getting ready to come free right up the gut, which is the most dangerous type of pressure for a quarterback to face in the NFL:
Palmer keeps his eyes downfield and takes a few steps to his left, rendering the pass rush ineffective:
