Carson Palmer Trade: Why Mike Brown Made Right Move in Trading Bengals QB

After months of insistence that disgruntled quarterback Carson Palmer wouldn't be going anywhere, it appears as though Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown has finally caved and allowed a trade of Palmer to the Oakland Raiders ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.

The deal will reportedly give the Bengals a 2012 first-round pick and a 2013 conditional first-round pick in return for Palmer. Brown was much-maligned for his plans to sit on an asset like Palmer, but after receiving a king's ransom for the former No. 1 overall pick, perhaps his methods were correct.

With second-round pick Andy Dalton playing extremely well as a rookie under center for Cincinnati, there was really no reason to hang onto Palmer any longer. The older Palmer got and the longer he went without playing football, the less the Bengals would have been able to get in return.

I don't think anyone expected the Bengals to get one first-rounder in exchange for Palmer, let alone two. Because of Brown's hardball approach, though, the Bengals were able to get an absolutely incredible deal. It makes me wonder whether Brown was playing possum all along, or if he actually intended on keeping Palmer.

Whatever the case, he absolutely made the right call. Cincinnati is currently 4-2 and in the thick of the playoff race in the AFC, but dealing Palmer doesn't impact their status at all since he hasn't even been near the team this season.

It's clear that the Bengals are a team on the rise with young talent like Dalton, rookie wide receiver A.J. Green and tight Jermaine Gresham among others. Now, they can possibly add four first-round picks to the equation over the next two seasons, so they could be legitimate contenders very soon.

In all honesty, getting that much in return for a quarterback that has been sitting at home all season is nothing short of a minor miracle. For comparison's sake consider the fact that the Washington Redskins were only able to get two sixth rounders from the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for Donovan McNabb prior to the season.

McNabb is obviously a shell of his former self, but he wasn't removed from the game like Palmer has been, and it isn't as if he is a significantly worse player than Palmer. While Palmer may make a good replacement for the injured Jason Campbell, it's hard to fathom how much the Raiders gave up.

Few NFL owners take more abuse than Brown, but he should be commended for getting so much for Palmer. Even if Palmer plays well and gets Oakland into the playoffs, this could very well go down as one of the most one-sided deals in league history due to the fact the Palmer was essentially on Cincinnati's trash heap.