Carson Palmer has been at the middle of all the offseason plans for the Oakland Raiders, as the team has been working hard to get the quarterback to take a pay cut to no avail, meaning that next season he likely will be on another team's roster.
According to Yahoo Sports, the 33-year-old quarterback has grown tired of the team's request for him to take a pay cut and has decided that he would rather leave as a backup for a winning team than stay in Oakland. According to sources, Palmer feels that the team has no chance of success next season and that money is not a factor in his decision. The Raiders are trying to get him to take a pay cut from his $13 million salary for next year.
The team acquired Palmer during the 2011 season and since the team went just 4-12 last year and appear to be rebuilding, the quarterback would like another chance to win. He has made demands in the past, including when he threatened to retire rather than play for the Bengals.
"Carson isn't 28, and he doesn't know how much time he has left," one source close to Palmer said Wednesday. "Does he want to be with a team that is clearly rebuilding and looks like it's a long way away from contending, where he doesn't have a whole lot around him?
The team asked him to take a $3 million pay cut from his salary, which was rebuffed by Palmer. There is a chance the team could try to trade him, as they would take a nearly $10 million cap his if he is released. The Raiders feel comfortable with Terrelle Pryor as the starter, but the Palmer situation may be one reason why they have been taking interest in Matt Flynn.
According to CBS Sports, the Raiders, Jaguars and Bills have all been interested in acquiring Flynn from the Seahawks, with Oakland being the likely front runner. The Seahawks have no real use for Flynn and they would like to get some draft picks back for the ones they had to trade up for Percy Harvin. Flynn has limited starting experience, but he won a national championship and has played in the league longer than Pryor.
The Raiders have also been looking deeply at the quarterbacks in the draft, as both Geno Smith and Matt Barkley could be options going forward. The Raiders likely are looking at Flynn since there is no guarantee that the Jaguars won't take Smith or Barkley one pick lower at two, leaving them to scramble for another option.
Palmer could have some options if he can get out onto the market, as both the Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills released their starters from last season. Palmer wants to play for a winner, but there is a good chance that those teams are set at the position already. He could fit nicely with Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona and another option could be New York if the Jets are ready to part with Tebow or one of the other nine quarterbacks they currently have on the roster.
Palmer has been a solid pro throughout his career, but he has played for some bad teams while with the Bengals and Raiders and he feels now that time for a Super Bowl is running out. Palmer could end up with a team like the 49ers or even the Seahawks as a backup, but that would depend on what each team is willing to give up.