Carson Palmer: Cincinnati Bengals QB to Be Cloaked in the Silver and Black

Owner Mike Brown and the Cincinnati Bengals have traded quarterback Carson Palmer to the Oakland Raiders, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter.

Initial reports were that the Raiders were going to sign David Garrard. 

Garrard is no longer an option now that he has to go under the knife to repair a herniated disc. A herniated disc surgery is debilitating, will leave Garrard in a tremendous amount of pain and often leads to additional surgeries. 

He's off the table. Well, at least the trade table. He did make his way onto the surgery table.

And then there was Palmer.

Before today, it seemed as though owner Mike Brown would not budge on trading Palmer to any team. It only seemed that way.

Brown moved Palmer and did so, perhaps, because the Raiders were willing to pay through the nose to get Palmer on the roster. Perhaps it was the strong bond that is shared between Raiders head coach Hue Jackson and Brown. 

Apparently, the Raiders coaching staff saw backup quarterback Kyle Boller just warm up today and freaked out. They are giving up their first-round pick in 2012, along with a conditional first-round pick in 2013. 

Like my grandpa used to tell me, everything has a price. Palmer's price was way too high. 

With this trade, Oakland will not pick in the 2012 NFL draft until the fifth round—they don't have a first, second, third or fourth-round pick. 

Perhaps Oakland pulled the trigger at such a hefty price because they feel this is the season to make the playoffs, and possibly more.

They could be right.

The Raiders are sitting at a solid 4-2 in the AFC West. Oakland's remaining schedule, however, is no cake-walk.

They still face the San Diego Chargers twice, along with a road game against a stiff Minnesota Vikings defense. Add in the new powerhouse Detroit Lions and the defending Super Bowl champs Green Bay Packers, and things look kind of bleak.  

It was a move that had to be done, nonetheless.

Boller is not an option to take the Raiders where they need to be. And according to head coach Hue Jackson, Terrelle Pryor is not ready yet.

Palmer and Jackson have worked together in Cincinnati in the past, but that was Cincinnati. Palmer hasn't seen Page 1 of the Oakland playbook, so who knows how long it will take for him to be effective?

With a career quarterback rating of 86.9, it may take Palmer a while.