Carson Palmer Trade: Did Oakland Raiders Mortgage the Future to Win Now?

FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer reports that the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals have completed one of the biggest trade deadline deals in recent history. Cincinnati agreed to send retired quarterback Carson Palmer to the Raiders in exchange for two first-round draft picks.

Glazer tweeted the news on Tuesday morning:

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"The Raiders & Bengals are close to a trade that would send Carson Palmer to OAK for a first-rounder in 2012 and a conditional pick in future."

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The conditional pick that Glazer references is an incentive-based pick in 2013. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that it could be a first rounder:

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"The 2013 pick is a conditional - it can become a first rounder based on playtime, other incentives. Plus the 2012 first rounder."

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And if you needed anymore confirmation on the deal, ESPN's NFL Insider Adam Schefter put the stamp on the deal with this tweet:

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"Carson Palmer to the Raiders now official. Compensation expected to be a 1 in 2012 and a conditional 1 in 2013."

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The Raiders were forced into the market for a quarterback when Jason Campbell went down with a broken collarbone Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Campbell is expected to miss the rest of the 2011 season.

The Raiders started the search for a quarterback almost immediately following Sunday's game. Palmer's name was initially being tossed around with the likes of Denver's Kyle Orton and even free agent David Garrard, but those moves looked unlikely before Tuesday's deadline.

With Kyle Boller set to be the Raiders starter for the rest of the regular season, the Raiders started to get desperate. 

Hue Jackson finally got Bengals owner Mike Brown to cave, but the price was steep.

In fact, the asking price was absolutely ridiculous.

But in typical Raiders fashion, Oakland agreed to a deal that shipped two first-round picks to Brown for a quarterback who has been in steady decline since tearing up his knee in January 2006.

Palmer is also 31 years old and essentially quit on his franchise and its fan base for no other reason than disliking the team he played for. That's exactly the kind of player for whom you shouldn't mortgage the future of your franchise.

But that's exactly what the Raiders did. They mortgaged their future. By giving away their first-round pick in 2011, the Raiders are without first, second, third, fourth and seventh round picks next April. The Raiders will also more than likely lose their first rounder next season.

That's not how you build a team that's going to win over the long haul.

Look at the good teams in the NFL who have sustained success: the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers. Those teams don't make these kind of deals. Instead of trading first rounders for washed-up quarterbacks, they draft them in the first round and develop them.

The Raiders, in their short-minded, panicked move, eliminated that possibility. And it's not like the Raiders have the most talented roster in the NFL. They need draft picks to continue to build that franchise.

Raiders fans should agree, too. They will celebrate the short-term potential of this deal, but look at the cornerstones of your team: Darren McFadden (first round), Darius Heyward-Bey (first round), Rolando McClain (first round) and Michael Huff (first round). All first-round picks, which is something your franchise won't have for two years. Nnamdi Asomugha was a first rounder, too. 

Now, could the Raiders potentially make the playoffs this season with Palmer at the helm? Oakland obviously thinks so. I'm not ready to say that Palmer is even an upgrade over Jason Campbell, but the Raiders better hope this is a Super Bowl team right now, because help isn't coming via the draft any time soon.

Forget free agents, too, as the Raiders will swallow most of Palmer's $7 million on his 2011 contract. That puts them right at the cap for this season and the next. 

There's a reason why teams don't make these kind of trades. Good franchises don't mortgage their futures like the Raiders did today. The short-mindedness of what the Raiders did will cripple their franchise for years.