The Oakland Raiders are in a tough spot when it comes to quarterback Carson Palmer, as reports have said that he doesn't want a pay cut and that he would rather be a backup on a good team than stay in the Bay Area, leaving the Raiders with option of trading him, possibly for Matt Flynn.
According to Yahoo Sports, the Raiders asked Palmer to take a $3 million pay cut and sources close to the qwuarterback have said that money is no longer the biggest deal for him, but that since the Raiders are expected to be bad, he would rather be a backup on a good team than start in Oakland. Palmer could still be released by the team, but he also would like to get a deal to a winner, which brings up the Matt Flynn option.
Reports last week said that Oakland, the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars were all interested in Flynn and with the Raiders issues with Palmer, a trade could work for both sides. The Seahawks would like to get rid of Flynn for something, while Palmer has said that he would be a backup for a good team rather than stay in Oakland.
Seattle head coach Pete Carroll could send Flynn to the Raiders to get his old USC Trojans quarterbacks to the Seahawks along with a draft pick possibly in a deal that is beneficial to both sides. Although Palmer is making a decent amount of money at $13 million, he might be more willing to restructure if he is in Seattle rather than Oakland.
The Bills and Jaguars were interested in Flynn, but the report said that Oakland is the likely from runner because Jacksonville and Buffalo may look to the draft for an option instead.
"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?"
West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith could be the pick for any of those teams, but the Raiders may want to ensure themselves a solid starter, as the Jaguars could pick the quarterback one selection before them. If Palmer is released, he still could end up in Seattle or even in Arizona, where despite the fact that they were a bad team, they still have wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
Palmer also could stay in the Bay Area if he switches conferences, as the San Francisco 49ers could use an experienced backup for Colin Kaepernick and it would be with a winning team. Palmer would be an upgrade over Drew Stanton in Arizona for Bruce Arians and he could being the team back to respectability in the same way Kurt Warner did when he led them to the Super Bowl.
Flynn doesn't have much starting experience, but he would be a better option than Terrelle Pryor, as he at least won a start in green Bay after throwing for over 400 yards and six touchdowns. Both Palmer and Flynn are likely to be on different rosters next season and there is a chance that the deal that makes it happen will involve both quarterbacks.