Matt Flynn is coming and Carson Palmer is going.
The quarterback carousel continues with the Raiders.
The Raiders on April 1 acquired Flynn, pictured above, in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, ending Palmer's two-season tenure in Oakland.
The Raiders reportedly sent a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a conditional pick in 2015 to Seattle for Flynn, a backup at Louisiana State behind former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
Fox Sports on April 1 reported Palmer was expected to be dealt to the Arizona Cardinals for a draft pick. Then Raiders coach Hue Jackson traded a 2012 first-round draft pick and 2013 second-rounder to the Cincinnati Bengals for Palmer in October of 2011.
On April 2, the Raiders traded Palmer to the Cardinals. The Cardinals reportedly gave up a conditional seventh-round 2014 draft pick and exchanged one of their sixth-round picks this year for Oakland's seventh-round selection.
Flynn signed a three-year, $26 million deal with the Seahawks before the 2012 season but failed to beat out rookie Russell Wilson for the starting job and became expendable. Flynn, 27, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He reportedly will make $5.25 million this season and $6.25 million in 2014.
“Matt’s one of those guys, even though he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities, when he’s had those opportunities, he’s made the most out of those chances,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen told reporters April 1. “We feel real good about that, and feel real good about getting a young prospect at quarterback.”
“I was hoping to get another opportunity,” Flynn told Bay Area reporters April 2. “Seattle had told me that if they could find the right place for me to get another opportunity then they would look into it. Once this thing started rolling and once I started talking to people from the (Raiders) organization, I was wanting to get this thing done and get here.”
Flynn has started just two games in five NFL seasons, but has shown promise in those brief appearances.
He threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns in a Green Bay loss at New England in place of an injured Aaron Rodgers late in the 2010 season. He then started the regular-season finale the following season, going 31 for 44 for 480 yards and six touchdown passes in a 45-41 win over Detroit.
Flynn was drafted by the Packers in the seventh round in 2008 when Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie worked in the Green Bay front office. He has thrown 141 passes in his career, completing 87 for 1,083 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
Palmer, 33, fell one win short of leading Oakland into the playoffs in the 2011 season and then the Raiders stumbled to a 4-12 record in 2012. Under the terms of his Raiders contract, he reportedly was owed $13 million for the 2013 season.
The Raiders reportedly will save about $6 million on this season’s cap by moving Palmer.
Palmer's prolific passing in 2012 did not translate into success for the the Raiders. He completed 61.1 percent of his passes and threw for 4,018 yards in 15 games — second most in franchise history — with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
“When we looked at it, both from his standpoint and our standpoint, we just realized that it was time for us to move on and move forward,” Allen said. “We felt like Matt Flynn gave us a great option.”
By moving Palmer, the Raiders have only two quarterbacks on their roster — Flynn and Terrelle Pryor, who has started only one NFL game in two seasons with Oakland.
Since dealing a 2012 fourth-round pick to the Washington Redskins during the 2010 draft for Jason Campbell, the Raiders have committed six draft picks on quarterbacks with little to show for it.
Oakland used a 2012 third-round pick to take Pryor in the supplemental draft in 2011; dealt the aforementioned two high picks for Palmer after Campbell got hurt in October 2011; and now have traded two picks for Flynn.
If Flynn beats out Pryor for the starting job, he will be the 16th quarterback to start for the Raiders since the beginning of the 2003 season.
