Raiders trade Carson Palmer to Cardinals

For the second time in seven years, the Arizona Cardinals have acquired a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from USC.

The Cardinals traded for Oakland’s Carson Palmer on Tuesday, swapping their sixth-round pick (No. 176) in this year’s draft for the Raiders’ seventh-round pick (219). That’s absurdly cheap, considering the first- and second-round selections the Raiders gave up to acquire Palmer from Cincinnati in 2011.

Palmer, 33, had declined to take a pay cut on his $13-million salary to stay with the Raiders, but he agreed to a new deal with the Cardinals, the terms of which are undisclosed. He became expendable in Oakland on Monday when the Raiders traded for Seattle backup Matt Flynn.

In his two seasons with the Raiders, Palmer started 24 games, completing 544 of 893 passes (60.9%) for 6,771 yards, 35 touchdowns, 30 interceptions and a passer rating of 83.5.

Palmer won the Heisman in 2002 and was chosen first overall by the Bengals in 2003. Two years later, he led them to their first winning season, division title, and playoff appearance since 1990. However, he suffered a gruesome knee injury early in that playoff game against Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals, who seven years ago picked USC Heisman winner Matt Leinart 10^th overall, are hoping for a fresh start under new Coach Bruce Arians, who has had great success working with quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck.

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