Report: Oakland Raiders Attempting To Trade For Quarterback Matt Flynn; Carson Palmer's Future Remains Unclear

It's not October 18, 2011, but it's happening again. The Oakland Raiders are trying to acquire a quarterback through a trade on Friday, attempting to grab career backup Matt Flynn for undisclosed picks, according to multiple reports. The move was speculated as a final attempt to get Carson Palmer to take a $3 million reduction from his scheduled $13 million salary; an overture he rejected because it's believed that he's angling a release to sign with another team.

Initially, the trade seemed "imminent", but Flynn's unwillingness to budge on his salary in his current contract have slowed things a bit. Additionally, the Raiders now appear to be trying to deal Palmer in a trade before they have to resort to releasing him and gaining nothing. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports reported that the Arizona Cardinals have been working with Oakland to see if they can find a way to grab Palmer in a trade before he hits the open market. Mike Garafolo of USA Today has sources that tell him that Palmer's desired landing spots are either in Arizona or in San Francisco with the 49ers. In Arizona, Palmer would have a chance to compete for a starting spot, while in San Francisco he would be the backup to Colin Kaepernick.

There are other possibilities floating out there as well, as the rumors are running rampant. Aside from the Cardinals trade chatter, one possibility is that he lands with the Seattle Seahawks as a backup quarterback to Russell Wilson, either by trade or after his release. There's a Pete Carroll connection, who was Palmer's head coach for the quarterback's final two seasons at USC and is now the head coach for the Seahawks.

Since orchestrating a trade out of Cincinnati, the Bengals have since qualified for consecutive postseasons for the first time in 30 years. Prior to joining the Raiders, Oakland was 4-2 coming off a loss, highlighted by Jason Campbell's broken collarbone. Since the trade, Oakland has gone 8-18 with Palmer generating a passer rating of 83.5, throwing 35 touchdowns against 30 picks (a higher interception ratio than when he played for Cincinnati).

Despite that, a poll on Silver and Black Pride prefer Terrelle Pryor as the team's starting quarterback, even including Matt Flynn in the discussions. Also, this has to speak volumes about how some teams (or at least the Raiders and Cardinals) view the quarterback talent in this year's draft. Stay tuned, as this is likely going to be continuing on through Easter weekend.

(Editor's Note: Anthony Cosenza contributed to this article.)