The ongoing saga between the Oakland Raiders and quarterback Carson Palmer doesn’t seem to be heading for a resolution any time in the near future.
Palmer hasn’t been receptive to the Raiders requests to restructure his contract for a third time since coming over in a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011. The Raiders will have to pay Palmer $13 million for next season if he remains on the roster if Palmer continues to scoff at the team’s requests. Now, according to Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports, Palmer may prefer to leave Oakland altogether even if it’s in favor of less money and playing time elsewhere.
Palmer reportedly refused a $3 million pay cut that would have still paid him $10 million to play for Oakland next season. It’s a value Palmer likely would not be able to command on the open market were he to become available. Per Silver, Palmer is disenchanted with the Raiders possibilities for a winning season in 2013 and that he wants to have a chance to join a team that has a chance to be successful next season. Even if it means being a backup.
“Carson isn’t 28, and he doesn’t know how much time he has left,” a source told Silver. “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?
“He’s gotten to play a lot in his career, but he hasn’t gotten to experience a lot of winning. At this point, I think being somewhere where they have a chance to win is the most important thing.”
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Raiders are willing to pay Palmer’s salary “for now” but whether that will still be the case come the fall remains to be seen. Palmer’s deal doesn’t have any roster bonuses scheduled that would force an expedited decision by the Raiders.
Nevertheless, the team and Palmer both seem to have largely differing goals for what they want to do going forward. The Raiders are likely not going to pay Palmer his full salary for next season and Palmer doesn’t seem willing to accommodate the team’s requests in return. With the two sides seemingly at an impasse, a resolution doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.
