You may have heard this by now, but in case you haven't, the Oakland Raiders made an insane trade on Tuesday, sending away a 2012 first-round pick and a conditional 2013 first-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for Carson Palmer. Palmer has not played this year because he was retired, but that didn't stop the Raiders from making the move.
Obviously, the trade happened because Jason Campbell suffered a shoulder injury in the Raiders' win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Campbell played well for the Raiders this season, but once again, a team has dealt major assets to upgrade over him. Sound familiar, Redskins fans?
Yes, it was just over a year ago when the Redskins decided it would be better to trade two high draft picks for Donovan McNabb than roll with Campbell as a stopgap. That time, the move was made because of performance, not injury. Otherwise, though, the parallels are striking. Both teams decided that it would be better for their long-term future to give up significant assets to upgrade over Campbell instead of keeping Campbell and holding those assets.
Things didn't work out too well for the Redskins with that trade. McNabb is gone and the team's choices to play quarterback are Rex Grossman and John Beck. Something tells me it won't work out well for the Raiders either.
Hey, maybe the Redskins can bring Campbell back now. He is a 2012 free agent...