Just Trade, Baby! Carson Palmer Back in the Spotlight with the Oakland Raiders

And now, lining up under center for the 2011 Oakland Raiders...wait for it...Kyle Boller! Well, at least for Week 7. Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know that former No. 1 draft pick Carson Palmer was traded to the Raiders on Tuesday, keeping the team from slipping into obscurity in the wake of Jason Campbell's broken collarbone.

Considering Palmer landed in Oakland less than 24 hours ago and most likely didn't study the playbook on the flight over, he might need a week to get acclimated with his new surroundings. Or maybe not. Head coach/GM/personnel aficionado/Barry Bonds' twin Hue Jackson should let Boller run the offense against the maybe-not-so-terrible Kansas City Chiefs until that new guy is caught up to speed on the inner workings of handing the ball off to Darren McFadden.

But we all know Jackson by now. He's a rebel! He just might let Palmer take over Sunday. And now that I think of it, why not? It's not like Palmer is a rookie or a career clipboard carrier (alliteration!). Let's just say the guy knows a thing or two about a thing or two. If he could handle the ego fest that was Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens, he can handle anything. Let him play! Let him play!

So what does this trade mean in the grand scheme of things? Big trades in the NFL just don't happen too often during the season. They don't happen much at all, really. So after all the posturings and denials of Palmer ever being traded by Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown and head coach Marvin Lewis, I was very surprised to learn at 7:22 Tuesday morning via Colin Cowherd that Palmer was in fact being traded to the Raiders (say the team's name the way Chris Berman does; it's the only way).

As a fan of the team and the player, I was stoked. He brings immediate legitimacy to the most important position on the field, a legitimacy that Oakland hasn't had since Rich Gannon. By all accounts, Jason Campbell seems like a great guy. I kind of feel bad for him. He finally seemed to find a home by the bay, led his team to a surprising (in a good way) 4-2 record, then randomly breaks his collarbone. Now he'll be looking for a new home come the offseason. Them's the breaks, some old guy used to say.

As for the draft picks the Raiders gave up to bring Palmer back to California, such is life. It seemed like most of the talking heads on all the major sports networks were bashing the move, including Bay Area sports radio station KNBR's own Larry Krueger. For shame! At least Gary Radnich kept it real when he said live for today. Everybody else kept saying that a first-round pick in 2012 and either a first or second-rounder in 2013 was way too much to trade for a washed-up signal caller.

Palmer's only 31. Sure, he's not what he used to be, but who is? The fact is, the Raiders haven't been relevant for almost a decade! Now Around the Horn has them as the lead story of the day. That's got to mean something, right?

Even if the trade doesn't work out and Oakland doesn't win the Super Bowl, or God forbid, even make the playoffs, Palmer's an upgrade over Campbell and any other quarterback the team would bring in. Think of it this way: "With the 15th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select...Carson Palmer!" See, that fake Roger Goodell quote just changed your mind.

If this trade wasn't made, the team probably would have screwed up the picks anyway. Everybody trashed the Richard Seymour trade at the time, but he's the unquestioned leader on the resurgent defense right now. Who cares if it cost a first-rounder? Why pick a player who might one day go there and do that when you can just trade for a player who has already been there and done that?

Finally, the most important question that some beat reporter needs to get up in the face of Palmer and ask is: Who gets the No. 9 jersey? Shane Lechler is arguably one of the all-time Raiders greats. Does he defer to the incoming QB, the one position where uniform number really does seem to hold significance? Or does Palmer do the honorable thing and take No. 6 or 17, make those numbers mean something?

Here's hoping that is the biggest controversy to befall this team on the way to the Super Bowl. This is a good move, Raiders Nation. Flags fly forever. All in!

(Update: Carson Palmer will start Sunday and wear number 3. There you go.)