The Oakland Raiders have acquired 31-year old QB Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals, but he didn’t come cheap.  The Raiders had to give the Bengals a first round pick in 2012 and a conditional first round pick in 2013.  Palmer played for Raiders’ head coach Hue Jackson when he was an assistant coach with the Bengals in 2004-2006.  The Raiders hope that because of that, Jackson gets Palmer quickly up to speed.  Palmer played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bengals in 2010 and he completed 362 of 586 passes (61.8%) for 3,970 yards with 26 TD passes and 20 INTs (82.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 32 times for 50 yards (1.6 ypc) last year for the Bengals.  Palmer has now played in 97 games (all starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,024 of 3,217 passes (62.9%) for 22,694 yards with 154 TD passes and 100 INTs (86.9 QB Rating).  Palmer has also carried the ball 179 times for 316 yards (1.8 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Palmer is 46-51 (47.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  The Raiders hope that Palmer will get up to speed quickly so that he can start this weekend against the Chiefs.  This was the kind of bold move that Al Davis would have loved to pull the trigger on.

UPDATE:  The draft pick the Raiders sent to the Bengals in 2013 will become a first round pick if the Raiders make it to the AFC Championship Game in either 2012 or 2013.  If they don’t, the 2013 pick will be a 2nd rounder.

The Raiders have acquired 25-year old linebacker Aaron Curry from the Seahawks for a 7th round pick in 2012 and a conditional mid-round pick in 2013.  Curry was the 4th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft.  He has played in five games this year (with the Seahawks) and he has 22 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 35 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 156 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 9 tackles for a loss and 9 passes defensed.  This is a solid pickup for the Raiders.

The Raiders have acquired 28-year old QB Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins for a 4th round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Campbell is a big guy at 6’5″, 230 pounds and he has all of the tools to be a solid QB.  He has a good arm, he’s mobile and he protects the football which will all be new to the Raiders’ receivers in 2010.  Campbell played in all 16 games for the Redskins last season and he completed 327 of 507 passes (64.5%) for 3,618 yards with 20 TD passes and 15 INTs (86.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 46 times for 236 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  In his time with the Redskins, Campbell played in 52 games in which he completed 1,002 of 1,637 passes (61.2%) for 10,860 yards with 55 TD passes and 38 INTs (82.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 153 times for 786 yards (5.1 ypc) with 3 TD carries in his career.  Campbell is a HUGE upgrade for the Raiders and they didn’t have to pay much to get him. 

The Raiders have traded 28-year old inside linebacker Kirk Morrison to the Jaguars for a 4th round pick in the NFL Draft.  Morrison played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he finished up with 133 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and he defensed 1 pass.  In his 5 years with the Raiders he played in 80 games in which he has made 632 tackles, defensed 19 passes, he has 5 sacks and 7 interceptions.  With the addition of Rolando McClain in the first round of the NFL Draft, Morrison became expendable.  This is a good trade for both the Raiders and Morrison as he will get to start for the Jaguars and the Raiders got a decent pick for him.

The Raiders have acquired 25-year old DE Quentin Groves from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 5th round pick in this weekend’s NFL Draft.  Groves played in all 16 games for the Jags last season and he had 30 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, he forced 1 fumble, defensed 1 pass and he had 1 interception.  He has now played in 32 games in his NFL career and he has 43 tackles, 2.5 sacks, he has defensed 2 passes, forced 2 fumbles and he has 1 interception.  Groves was worth the Raiders taking a chance on for a fifth round pick as he might have just needed a change of scenery to excel.

The Raiders have acquired 26-year old OLB/DE Kamerion Wimbley from the Cleveland Browns for a 3rd round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Wimbley played in 16 games for the Browns last season in which he made 69 tackles, he had 6.5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, he forced 1 fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  Wimbley has now played in 63 games in his NFL career in which he has made 248 tackles, defensed 4 passes, he has 26.5 sacks, he has forced 7 fumbles and he has a interception.  The Raiders are looking to start Wimbley at DE opposite of Richard Seymour.  But unless Wimbley adds some weight to his frame (he is 6’3″, 255 pounds) he could have some trouble dealing with tackles.  Still a player with the upside of Wimbley was well worth a third round pick.

The Oakland Raiders traded their 2011 first round draft pick to the New England Patriots for defensive lineman Richard Seymour.  The trade was announced on Sunday, however the five-time Pro Bowl lineman has yet to show up in Oakland and the deal has not been finalized.  Seymour has apparantly told Raiders’ coach Tom Cable that he wants to play in Oakland but needs to work things out with the Patriots first.  It doesn’t look like Seymour is being honest, because who really wants to play for the Raiders these days?  Seymour, who will turn 30 this year, is going from the most successful franchise of the last decade to the least successful. 

The Raiders do need help with stopping the run, as they had the worst run defense this preseason, and although Seymour is one of the best run stoppers in the league, he is aging and will be a free agent after the season.  So, this trade isn’t really looking like a good move by the Raiders.  That 2011 draft pick they are giving up will most likely be a top 10 pick and Seymour probably won’t want to stay in Oakland after this season (that is even if this trade is official).

The Raiders have traded 31-year old OLB/DE Derrick Burgess to the New England Patriots for 3rd and 5th round picks in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Burgess played in 10 games for the Raiders last season and he made 24 tackles, defensed 2 passes, had 3.5 sacks and he forced 1 fumble.  In 4 years with the Raiders, Burgess played in 56 games in which he made 170 tackles, defensed 3 passes, had 38.5 sacks and he forced 5 fumbles.  The Raiders figured that Burgess was on the downslope of his career.  If they are right this was a good trade.

The Raiders have acquired 24-year old center Samson Satele from the Dolphins for a 6th round pick in next April’s NFL Draft.  The Raiders will also swap picks in another round with the Dolphins.  Satele is 6’3″, 300 pounds and he’s been a starter in the NFL since Day #1.  He has started all 32 games in his 2-year NFL career with the Dolphins.  This was another good move for the Raiders who are attempting to build a offensive line.

The Oakland Raiders have traded cornerback Fabian Washington to the Baltimore Ravens for a 4th round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.  Washington played in 15 games (3 starts) for the Raiders last year and he made 40 tackles, defensed 8 passes and he had 1 interception.  Washington played 3 seasons for the Raiders and he made 123 tackles, defensed 24 passes and he intercepted 5 passes.  This was a good move for the Raiders as Washington wasn’t going to get much playing time this season if he stayed with them.