Carson Palmer made news today, but not what everyone thinks – he did NOT retire.

The Oakland Raiders, losing their starting quarterback Jason Campbell to a collarbone injury, announced just moments ago that Carson Palmer  will be joining the team immediately.   In exchange for Palmer, the Bengals will receive a first round draft pick and a “conditional” pick in 2013.  Should Oakland win one or more playoff games this season, Oakland will give their first round pick of 2013.   Otherwise, they will give Cincinnati a second round pick in 2013.

Palmer demanded a trade this offseason, threatening to retire if Cincinnati didn’t comply. When the Bengals refused to deal him, Palmer simply stayed away — he never formally retired but also did not join Cincinnati for the preseason or any portion of the regular season.

Cincinnati remained firm not to trade Palmer, but Oakland was desperate when Jason Campbell went down.   With the Raiders only backup being Kyle Boller and rookie Terelle Pryor, Oakland felt the need to negotiate for Palmer.  Head coach Hue Jackson knows Palmer from his previous days.

With the lockout and his standoff in Cincinnati, Palmer hasn’t seen any live action since Jan. 2 against Baltimore.   His effectiveness is going to be in question until he can prove to his critics that he can still play.

The Raiders will be counting on Palmer to step in and deliver — especially since this move clarifies that Oakland is going all out to make the playoffs this season. By dealing their first-rounder in 2012, Oakland is now without a pick for the upcoming draft’s first four rounds.

The big bonus for Cincinnati is that Oakland will be picking up all of Palmer’s remaining salary for 2011, which is $11.5 million for the entire 2011 season.

So what happens to Jason Campbell once he recovers?   No one knows that yet, but he will be a free agent after this season.   We may never see Campbell again in a Raiders uniform.