Like every team in the NFL, there are a handful of moves the Raiders wish they could re-do over the past decade. From trading for Antonio Brown to drafting D.J. Hayden in the first round in the 2013 draft, the Raiders have their fair share of misses.
However, the biggest mistake of the decade was undoubtedly trading for Carson Palmer. After demanding a trade, Palmer “retired” as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. But the team eventually moved him to the Raiders after starter Jason Campbell was injured in a Week 6 win over the Browns.
With the Raiders holding a 4-2 record, the team thought they had a playoff-caliber team. And for that reason, they made the bold decision to trade for the 32-year old Palmer. The Raiders would ultimately give away the No. 17 pick in the 2012 draft and another 2013 second-round pick for the former USC star.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report, they named each franchise’s biggest mistake of the past decade. Not surprisingly, the Palmer trade made the list. Here is a quick snippet of the site’s thoughts on the team’s bold trade:
Palmer went 4-5 in his first season in Oakland and threw 16 interceptions against 13 scores. The Raiders missed the playoffs despite a 7-4 start to the season, which led to Jackson’s firing. Palmer would start 24 games for the Raiders, throwing 35 touchdowns and 30 interceptions with a passer rating of 83.5 and an 8-16 record.
It’s hard to blame the Raiders too much here as they thought Palmer could still be a franchise quarterback. To their credit, they were right as he was fantastic for the Cardinals from 2013 to 2016. However, he just never meshed well in Oakland and they didn’t put the right talent around him.
Considering what the team gave up for Palmer, it’s hard not to view this as one of their biggest mistakes of the decade.
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