Does Carson Palmer Make the Oakland Raiders a Serious Super Bowl Contender?

The Oakland Raiders sit at 4-2, second in the AFC West, just behind the San Diego Chargers. Their offense, led by Jason Campbell and emerging superstar Darren McFadden, has been a potent weapon thus far. But when Campbell went down with a broken collarbone on Sunday against the Browns, backup Kyle Boller had to step in. Suddenly, the Raiders first winning season in almost a decade seemed in doubt. Boller played well enough to help the Raiders win, but the news about the severity of Campbell's injury was disheartening.

Immediately, speculation began about who the Raiders could bring in to replace Campbell. Several names were thrown around, including Trent Edwards, David Garrard, Carson Palmer and Kyle Orton. Of all the names mentioned, Palmer was unanimously considered the least likely to be donning the Silver and Black.

However, something strange happened on the way to the free agent market. With the trade deadline approaching and time ticking away, the Raiders pulled off a Hail Mary, somehow acquiring Palmer from the Bengals for a first round pick in 2012 and a conditional pick in 2013. (This according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen.)

The deal was considered a long shot because of the animosity between Palmer and Bengals owner Mike Brown, who had steadfastly refused Palmer's numerous requests for a trade. It seems that Hue Jackson, who has a relationship with Brown from his days as an assistant coach in Cincinnati, was able to pull off the trade that could actually make the Raiders stronger than they were before the Campbell injury.

The Palmer acquisition gives the Raiders a big-armed quarterback that has never been short on talent, but sometimes short on a talented supporting cast. The Bengals appeared to be heading deep into a playoff run after an 11-5 season in 2005, but on their first pass play of their first playoff game (a 66 yard completion to Chris Henry), Palmer suffered a torn MCL and ACL, ending his season and the Bengals hopes of a Super Bowl trip. They lost the game to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Steelers, 31-17.

Palmer has proven he has the talent to lead a team, and with the current Raider squad built on a run-heavy platform, he could ease into Hue Jackson's system and help the Raiders make that deep playoff run that he wasn't able to make in Cincinnati.