Now, less than two years later, the Raiders aren't any closer to the playoffs than they were when Palmer arrived. It's time for the team to bite the bullet and end the Carson Palmer "era" in Oakland.
The reason for this is simple. Money.
As in the Raiders don't have much of it under the salary cap, and Palmer apparently isn't inclined to help in that regard.
At least that's the latest from ESPN's Adam Schefter, who tweeted Monday that the 33-year-old is unwilling to restructure a contract that will pay him a whopping $13 million in base salary this season.
If that's the case, then Palmer needs to be released. Now. There's no point in waiting.
Nor is there any real point in further hand-wringing about the ill-fated trade that brought Palmer to Oakland to begin with. It was a knee-jerk reaction to then-starter Jason Campbell breaking his collarbone, born of the power vacuum created by the death of Al Davis.
Was it a bad trade? Absolutely. But it's over now. No turning back.
Now it's about moving forward and that means cutting Palmer loose.
It's not that Palmer has been a huge bust. He's played reasonably well in his year and a half or so in Oakland, completing just over 60 percent of his passes. He's thrown more touchdown passes than interceptions, and last year he eclipsed 4,000 passing yards.
However, Palmer hasn't exactly been lights-out. In 2012 Palmer ranked 19th among quarterbacks according to Pro Football Focus, and he turned the ball over that same number of times.
Simply put, at this point in his career, Carson Palmer is an average quarterb...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
