Carson Palmer is going, going…back, back…to Cali, Cali…

…and the Raiders paid a king’s ransom for the 31-year old QB. Mike Brown hasn’t been known for his front office brilliance lately, but this move seems to have plenty of upside for the Bengals. I’ll get to Cincy’s part of the deal in a moment.

The Raiders haven’t had a steady quarterback since Rich Gannon was in town, and they lost their starter, Jason Campbell, to injury this week. Oakland must believe in their chances to win this year, because they traded a first round pick in 2012 and a conditional first round pick in 2013 to the Bengals for their former franchise QB Carson Palmer.

You remember him, right? He threatened to retire rather than play out the rest of his contract with the Bengals. He was so frustrated with Mike Brown, Marvin Lewis, Chad Ochocinco, and the losing culture of the Bengals that he would have rather sat out then compete. It’s tough to blame him there, but it was head-scratching news nonetheless.

Palmer made a huge splash in his first three NFL seasons for Cincinnati. From 2005-2007, he averaged 4001 yards, 29 TDs, and 15 INTs a season with a 65% completion percentage and a 93.6 rating. In 2005, he brought the Bengals to their first playoff appearance since 1990, but on the first play of the game, Kimo von Oelhoffen rolled into Palmer’s leg and injured his knee badly. Then, in the 2008 season, Palmer was shelved after four games due to a partially torn ligament and tendon in his elbow. He decided to skip Tommy John surgery and simply rest the elbow. Bad idea. From 2009-2010 Palmer averaged 3532 yards, 24 TDs, and 16 INTs a season with a 61% completion percentage and a 82.9 rating. While those aren’t terrible numbers, they’re a far cry from his first few years with the team.

The Raiders are hoping that Palmer will be rejuvenated by the extra rest from his holdout and a change of scenery. He is familiar with Radiers head coach Hue Jackson from his days with USC, where Jackson was the offensive coordinator, and the Bengals, where Jackson was the wide receivers coach. The Raiders already have an excellent running game with Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, but their receiving corps is somewhat undeveloped. Oakland hopes that Palmer will change that. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore, and Jacoby Ford all have great speed and physicality. If Palmer can learn the offense quickly, these young receivers (none are older than 24) could really flourish. The Raiders are clearly trying to make a playoff push this season.

As for the Bengals…they could not have asked for more out of this deal. Palmer was never going to suit up for them anyway, so getting two potential first round draft picks for him is incredible. Mike Brown’s no-trade stance with Palmer, that he held for months, worked remarkably well in hindsight…whether it was intentional or not. The Bengals obviously feel good about Andy Dalton’s play in the first six weeks of the season because he is now the true future of this franchise. Things have got to be looking bright for Cincinnati fans right now. The team is at 4-2 (although the six opponents they’ve faced combine for a 13-21 record), they have a young QB that looks pretty good right, the defense is ranked fifth in points allowed, they are tied for second in the AFC North, and to top it all off, they have an extra first round pick next year and a conditional first rounder in 2013.

What a crazy deal.