Carson Palmer: New Raiders QB Will Get on-the-Job Training vs. Chiefs

The Oakland Raiders gave up a hell of a lot to get Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals, and he is going to have to accomplish a hell of a lot in order to justify the trade.

However, it's not yet known whether or not Palmer will provide immediate returns. The Raiders have a home tilt against the Kansas City Chiefs looming on Sunday, and Palmer may not be ready to start. If he does not, Kyle Boller will be the starter by default.

Whether or not the Raiders will start Palmer anyway varies depending on who you ask, and this will be the case right up until the Raiders make a formal announcement.

Personally, my gut feeling is that Boller will get the start. For what it's worth, Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times agrees with me:

The indication here is that the Raiders are going to give Palmer a full two weeks to learn the offense before moving him under center, which I think is the most sensible proposition.

However, I can't escape the feeling that this is a little too sensible. Seeing as how the Raiders defied common sense in trading for Palmer in the first place, I think you have to expect the unexpected.

And that's why I fully expect Palmer to get some reps under center against the Chiefs on Sunday. He may not start, but I think he could very well finish.

The reason I say this is because there's virtually no reason to have any amount of faith in Kyle Boller. He hasn't been a relevant quarterback in years, and he didn't exactly inspire confidence with his work in relief of Jason Campbell on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

As such, my gut feeling is that Kyle Boller is going to continue to be Kyle Boller. This is to say that he will struggle, and that he will likely make Hue Jackson very frustrated.

The more frustrated Jackson gets, the more likely he is to call Palmer's number. After all, the only other quarterback he could put under center would be Terrelle Pryor, and Jackson is not going to do that if he also has Palmer on the sideline.

At the very least, inserting Palmer will be a good way to drum up some energy for his team, which could be sorely in need of some after watching Boller do his thing. While he's out there, Palmer will get some invaluable reps with an offense that will be his for the foreseeable future.

It's not exactly an ideal scenario either way, but the Raiders have the good fortune of going up against a Chiefs team that just isn't very good.

If Palmer can come in and lead the Raiders to a win, great. If he can't, it's not going to be his fault.

Heck, it's going to be his first day on the job.