Does Michael Vick's new deal put pressure on Carson Palmer?

The Oakland Raiders are most certainly paying close attention to the new deal that the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Michael Vick reached this week. Prior to the new contract, Vick was owed $15 million for the upcoming season. After his rather poor performance over the past couple of years, the Eagles were not anxious to pay him anywhere near that number.

Since the Raiders find themselves in a similar position with Carson Palmer slated to earn far more than the Raiders are willing to pay in 2013. Palmer simply is not worth paying $13 million for, especially considering the world of cap hurt the Raiders find themselves in once again this off season. So the question then becomes, how does Vick's new deal impact the Raiders current situation.

First and foremost, this puts the Raiders on solid ground when asking Palmer to take a pay cut. While Vick was slotted to make more than Palmer this upcoming season, they are both quarterbacks who are on the back side of their careers and both play for teams that need to show a lot of improvement from how they played in 2012. Should Palmer balk at the idea of taking a pay cut, the Raiders will be able to point out Vick and assert that what they are asking is far from unreasonable.

In addition, it puts pressure on Palmer because the Eagles and Vick have crafted a rather creative contract that keeps Vick financially happy while also keeping the Eagles from handing over the keys to the vault in order to keep an aging quarterback. While it is true that there are a number of teams out there who are desperate for a quarterback right now, Palmer would likely be hard pressed to find a team who is willing to pay him a significant amount of the $13 million number that he is currently slated to make.

Something has got to give with Palmer's contract situation as it currently sits. Vick and the Eagles have broken the ice on restructuring high contracts this off season, now the Raider Nation must sit and wait to see if Palmer and the Raiders will follow suit.