According to idle speculation from Peter King of Sports Illustrated, Cincinnati's trade with Oakland was in danger of not happening until, he conjectures, the 2013 second-round pick was added to sweeten the deal. King writes that Raiders head coach Hue Jackson went to bed Monday night with a 30-70 belief that the trade would happen with only the 2012 first round pick on the table. In other words, it wasn't likely and as Jackson told King, "I knew time was very short." King writes that:
...my feeling is it came down to the 2013 pick. There was never a question the Raiders' 2012 first-round pick would be part of the compensation. But there was a question about the 2013 part of the deal -- would it be a 2013 second-round pick that went to a one if the Raiders made the playoffs in either of the next two years? Or would it be a second- that went to a first-rounder if the Raiders advanced to the AFC Championship Game in either of the next two years? It ended up being the latter.
As for this Sunday, Cincinnati fans were granted the game between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs by CBS. According to ESPN NFL Insider, Carson Palmer isn't expected to start and Peter King speculates:
It could be that Palmer has not been totally comfortable with the mental part of the game and could choose to use the bye week to get more at ease with the speed and the Xs and Os.