Carson Palmer to the Raiders

Carson Palmer becoming a Raider is all but done, with reports saying Oakland is sending a 2012 first round pick and a 2013 conditional first round pick (which means if Palmer see's enough playing time as well as performs up to a certain standard, it will be a first round pick; if not, it would slip to a lower pick) to the Cincinnati Bengals.

You have to believe that this is a great trade for the Bengals, receiving two first round picks for a quarterback that had decided to retire other than play for them. Andy Dalton, a second round pick out of TCU, has lead the Bengals to a 4-2 record which made this decision that much easier. Some analysts have argued that it is a risk for the Bengals to trade a quarterback of Palmer's caliber to a team it might be competing against for one of the AFC Wild Card playoff spots come the end of the season. But with two teams such as the Raiders and Bengals, I believe you just have to cross that bridge when it gets there.

Now some questions arise from this trade for the Raiders:

• Will Carson Palmer start this week against the Chiefs?
• Will Carson Palmer be better than Kyle Boller?

At the quarterback position, familiarity is of the utmost importance. So one would think that even with Palmer coming in, the Raiders would wait to assimilate him into the offense during the bye week, which comes immediately after the Chiefs-Raiders game this Sunday. On the other hand, the Raiders haven't been known for the 'should-do's'; just this past week, right after acquiring former first round linebacker Aaron Curry from the Seahawks, Oakland coach Hue Jackson said that he would be one of their starting linebackers that Sunday. "I brought him here for a reason and he's going to play. I didn't bring him here to look at him to figure it out or anything like that." You have to wonder if the Raiders will take the same approach with Palmer.

The other question is whether a Carson Palmer off the street and fresh off retirement will be better than a Kyle Boller that has been ingrained into their offense for two seasons. Although Palmer has had a better career, Boller is familiar with the offense. So do the Raiders go with the backup they seem to have no faith in who has averaged 1,854 yards, 10 touchdowns for around a 55 completion percentage in the three seasons he's (been allowed) to play at least 11 games; or do they go with the new face who has averaged 3,137 yards, with a 62.9 completion percentage, and 22 touchdowns in seven seasons he's started at least 13 games? By the way, they were both 2003 first round draft picks.

If I had to make a prediction, I'd say that the Chiefs will see Kyle Boller this weekend, just because Palmer needs to become accustomed to Oakland's offense (although the transition may be easier because Hue Jackson and Palmer worked together in Cincinnati for a few seasons) before being given the starting role, which I could see happening during the bye week.

In case you were wondering, Palmer is 3-1 in games he's started against the Chiefs, although his stats have never been that pretty. And lest we forget Palmer's performance against the Chargers last season that clinched the AFC West title for the Chiefs.