Carson Palmer Out, Leaving Matt Leinart, Terrelle Pryor to Compete for Start at Quarterback for Raiders

by Doug Kyed on Wed, Dec 26, 2012 at 6:18PM

While everyone talks about how poor the Cardinals’ and Jets’ quarterback situations are, it seems as though — possibly due to their 4 p.m. games and location on the West Coast — the Raiders have been forgotten. Well, while Carson Palmer‘s stats may not look as bad as Ryan Lindley‘s or Mark Sanchez‘s, trust us, he’s been just as bad.

Unfortunately, the options behind Palmer aren’t any more promising. Palmer is out for Oakland’s Week 17 matchup against the Chargers with cracked ribs and a bruised lung, leaving Matt Leinart and Terrelle Pryor to fight for the starting job.

In Week 16, the USC 2004 Heisman winner, Leinart, replaced Palmer, with Pryor taking three wildcat snaps. Raiders head coach Dennis Allen has declined to name a starter so far.

Leinart threw for 115 yards and one interception against Carolina, amounting just a 45.7 quarterback rating. Pryor has received just seven snaps all season. He played one in 2011 after being selected in the third round of that year’s supplemental draft.