NFL Trade Rumors: Money Matters Will Keep Raiders from Acquiring Palmer or Orton

Forget about a lack of draft picks, stubborn ownership or even divisional rivalries—the Oakland Raiders won't steal Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals or Kyle Orton from the Denver Broncos to fill in for the injured Jason Campbell before the trade deadline because they simply don't have the money to make a deal work.

According to ESPN NFL insider John Clayton, the Silver and Black have only $6 million under the cap with which to work. Palmer's deal pays him $11.5 million this season, while Orton has the Broncos on the hook for a cap hit of nearly $9 million.

In either case, the Raiders simply don't have the cap flexibility to make a deal work. Even if they did, they would be hard-pressed to pry Palmer from Bengals owner Mike Brown's stubborn hands or Orton from the AFC West rival Broncos with their lack of draft picks.

Oakland is already without picks in the second, third and fourth rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft, thanks in part to the one they spent on Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft.

Not to mention that sacrificing yet another valuable draft pick to bring in either a rusty quarterback or a mediocre one in the middle of the season would set the franchise back now and into the future. NFL draft picks are too precious for any team to give them away for players that wouldn't likely be able to make an immediate contribution.

Of course, faced with a choice between Pryor and Kyle Boller at quarterback, the Raiders are in a fairly desperate position. They're two games over .500 for the first time since 2002 and actually have a legitimate chance to win the AFC West.

With the rampant discontent among devoted fans from years of losing and the added motivation to do proud by late owner and team icon Al Davis, the Raiders have every incentive to make sure the 2011 season is a successful one, that it ends in mid-January, if not early February.

Unfortunately for folks in Oakland, their beloved Raiders may simply have to make do with what they have until Campbell's clavicle has healed. With no financial flexibility to bring on Palmer or Orton and David Garrard pulling out of the running with a herniated disc, the Raiders are plum-dry of viable options.

Unless they actually think that Josh McCown is any better than Boller.

Luckily for head coach Hue Jackson, his team's offense doesn't need spectacular play under center to have success. The Raiders are only 24th in the league in passing but rank second in rushing, thanks to the league-leading efforts of running back Darren McFadden.

Realistically, all Oakland needs to stay competitive is someone who can hand the ball off to McFadden without fumbling.

Then again, the team may not need even that much, given McFadden's experience as a "Wildcat" quarterback during his collegiate playing days at Arkansas.

Ultimately, the Raiders' lack of cap space may actually be a good thing, as it will handcuff management from giving up the farm for an expensive player who, frankly, wouldn't get to throw much anyway.