Last night the Oakland Raiders officially announced the arrival of Carson Palmer in a press conference that included head coach Hue Jackson and one of the first questions Jackson was asked was whether Palmer would be starting this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jackson laughed and said he won't be disclosing that information yet but his offensive coordinator, Al Saunders, seems to think it's possible that Palmer could be ready to play this weekend.
Bob Fescoe and Josh Klingler had Saunders on 610 Sports this morning and Fescoe asked him what he needs to see out of Palmer to determine if he's ready to go.
The answer was simple and to the point: "As long as he's breathing."
"He walked out on the field yesterday and everybody kind of looked at everybody and said, 'You know what, this is a real quarterback,'" Saunders told Bob and Bob Josh. "That was the comment made by a couple of people as they just watched him throw. It just depends on how quickly he feels comfortable in what we're doing and that shouldn't take too long."
This is going to be an interesting story to follow this week because, after the Chiefs game, the Raiders have a bye so the idea of sitting him for two weeks in order to prepare has to be tempting. That said, this is a huge game against the Chiefs this weekend and if Palmer gives them the best chance to win, as Saunders apparently thinks he does, then it appears the Chiefs very well could see Palmer this weekend.
(H/T stagdsp)