NFL Trade Deadline: Carson Palmer Traded to the Oakland Raiders

Carson Palmer's jersey will feature a flashy shade of black this season, but it'll be without the orange stripes.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Bengals have agreed to trade the former Pro Bowl quarterback to the Oakland Raiders for two first-round draft picks, one in 2012 and the other in 2013.

This is the biggest NFL trade-deadline deal in decades.

Palmer had demanded a trade early in the offseason and threatened to retire if his wish was not granted. However, Cincinnati's infamous owner, Mike Brown, responded by stating, "We expected him to perform here. If he is going to walk away from his commitment we aren't going to reward him for it," via Pro Football Talk.

So much for that.

Oakland QB Jason Campbell had looked to be the Raiders' long-awaited answer at the position, until he broke his collarbone during last week's win over the Browns. Their other options were Kyle Boller—who hasn't won a game since 2007—and rookie Terrelle Pryor.

It goes without saying that the front office knew it needed to reach out to a veteran quarterback with a winning background.

And the fact that second-round pick Andy Dalton has led the Bengals to a 4-2 record probably impacted Brown's decision, allowing him to go through with the big-time deal.

Palmer, who signed a $118.75 million contract through 2014 with the Bengals, is willing to restructure his contract. Instead, he'll be making him $6.9 million for the balance of this season, sources said. The Raiders have around $6 million left under the cap.

Palmer has not played in an NFL game since January 2, but is ready to go. He has been working out with former Jets quarterback Ken O'Brien in Southern California, preparing for an opportunity such as this. Also, Palmer is quite familiar with Raiders head coach Hue Jackson, who was the Bengals' receivers coach from 2004-06.

Nevertheless, there's a contradiction to this trade. Both teams are a part of the American Football Conference (AFC) and could potentially be battling each other for a position in the playoffs.

But then again, the Bengals are basically getting two future impact players for a guy who's been sitting on the couch, watching every game from his big screen television.

So that's a risk they'll just have to take.