NFL Trade Deadline: 30 greatest trades in NFL history

24. Raiders become desperate for Carson Palmer

Things were so bad for Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals after the 2010 season. The team won just four games and the former No. 1 pick made it clear that he would rather retire from the NFL instead of continuing to play for the organization.

When Palmer demanded a trade from the team before the 2011 season, refusing to show up for training camp, it seemed like it would be only a matter of time before the former No. 1 pick eventually showed up. This was all too common in the NFL.

So how did this whole situation with Palmer and Cincinnati play out? Well, since Palmer lived up to his word by failing to show up for training camp, the Bengals ended up rolling with rookie quarterback Andy Dalton instead to start the 2011 season. The rest is history.

Luckily for Cincinnati, Dalton was playing well enough in his first year as a starter. The Bengals were considered one of the top contenders in the AFC and would even go on to earn a trip to the AFC playoffs before falling to the Houston Texans.

Clearly, the Bengals made out just fine without Palmer under center. To top off all the surprises from the 2011 season, the team was also able to deal their former quarterback to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a first-round pick in 2012, along with a second-rounder in 2013 that had the potential to turn into a first.

At the time of the deal, the Raiders were hoping that Palmer replacing the injured Jason Campbell would continue to put the team in the best position possible to make a playoff run. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case after the team finished that year with an 8-8 record.

Without question, the Bengals were the big winners from this deal. Dalton helped them earn trips to the AFC playoffs five years in a row, while the Raiders saw Palmer go 8-16 under center during his brief time with the team.