The Raiders are "trying hard" to make a deal for Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, a source familiar with the Raiders' thinking has told Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports.
The source "highly doubted" - those are Cole's words - that Cincinnati owner Mike Brown would deal Palmer, who is holding out in so-called "retirement" until he gets traded.
Palmer, who has been looking for a trade since the offseason, again politely asked Brown for a trade this week, according to one of Cole's sources.
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The 31-year-old Palmer, a two-time Pro Bowler, knows Raiders coach Hue Jackson from their days together in Cincinnati. Jackson, the wide receivers coach with the Bengals from 2004-06, "privately told people close to him that he would be interested in Palmer once Brown was willing to deal," according to Cole.
The Raiders, of course, are scrambling after Jason Campbell was likely lost for the season - or at the very least, indefinitely - with a broken collarbone. Kyle Boller is the new starter in Oakland, with rookie Terrelle Pryor currently the only backup.
What about compensation?
In terms of what the Raiders would have to give up for Palmer, Cole speculates that "the Raiders would do well to offer Cincinnati a third-round pick in 2013 that could increase in value to a second- or even first-round pick if Palmer performed well either this year or in 2012."
NFL
Part of the problem is that the Raiders don't have a pick in the second, third or fourth round of the 2012 draft due to a series of moves, including the selection of Pryor in the third round of the supplemental draft over the summer.
The trading deadline
One of the major obstacles here is the trade deadline, which is at 1 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Especially once you consider that Palmer was the face of the Bengals franchise and that the Raiders could have to get creative in their trade offer, that doesn't give the teams a lot of time to work out what would be a significant deal for both organizations.
Pro Football Talk's take
A little take on the Palmer situation, from Gregg Rosenthal at ProFootballTalk.com:
"The Raiders are 4-2 and ready to make a run to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. They just lost their starting quarterback, likely for the season. If any team was ever going to make an over-aggressive move including a first round pick, its Oakland in the next two days. ... Other possibilities for the Raiders could include signing David Garrard or trying to trade for Kyle Orton. Both of those moves make more sense to us because the cost will be less."