Oakland Raiders to make Carson Palmer take pay cut or be cut?

The Oakland Raiders have a lot of work to do on their roster this off season and a lot of that work has to do with getting the team under the salary cap. As a result, there has been a lot of talk about who might get cut in order to clear cap space, with Darrius Heyward-Bey and Tommy Kelly receiving the majority of the attention in those conversations.

One person that has rarely been mentioned, however, is Carson Palmer. Not because he isn't overpaid like Kelly and DHB, but rather, that he is so over paid, the Raiders could not afford to take the cap hit that would come with cutting him this off season. Now, that thought process appears to be going out the window.

Jason La Canfora of CBS sports wrote an article in which he lists Carson Palmer as one of the bigger names in the league that is likely to get cut this off season. Specifically, La Canfora reports that sources have indicated that there is no way Oakland will allow Palmer to play for them next season at his current price, which is right around $13 million. As a result, the Raiders are expected to ask Palmer to take a pay cut, or else be cut.

This is even more intriguing considering it comes relatively soon after the Raiders brass noted that back up Terrelle Pryor would have an opportunity to compete for the starting QB position in 2013. Pryor was finally given an opportunity to start in the final game of the 2012 season and he opened a lot of eyes to his potential to play QB in the NFL.

Now that the Raiders know they have an option at quarterback, it is much easier to apply pressure to Palmer in order to get him to take a pay cut. The real question is, will the Raiders actually go through with cutting Palmer if he insists on the $13 million or something close to it.