While the rest of the Raiders take some time off during this bye week, Carson Palmer is using this extra time to cram for his next midterm.
Most players will be taking four days off before returning next week to get ready for the Nov. 6 matchup with the Denver Broncos at O.co Coliseum.
Palmer, however, is spending four days at the Raiders' practice facility with many of his wide receivers, continuing to get his timing down, get in sync with his new teammates and learn the playbook.
Coaches aren’t allowed to oversee practices or workouts over the four days, per the NFL’s new agreement with its players, but head coach Hue Jackson told reporters this week that he’s given Palmer instructions about some things he wants his new quarterback to concentrate on.
“I feel like I’m back in high school studying and cramming for the SATs or something like that,” Palmer told Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times.
“It’s been a lot of work,” he added. “It’s been some long days but great days. I’ve enjoyed a lot of it. I still have a ways to go. I still have a little bit of time to get it down before we really get into next Wednesday’s work (on the gameplan for the Broncos).”
Palmer also said that when he saw action in the second half of the Raiders’ 28-0 loss to the Chiefs this past Sunday, it came as a surprise. He hadn’t expected to play.
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“I knew like about 15 plays and we ran the same 15 plays over and over again,” he said on radio Wednesday. He said he was “very uncomfortable and obviously not ready or prepared.”
Now, however, the new playbook and his teammates are starting to become familiar.
At least four receivers have said they will stick around to work with Palmer on the field and in the film room, reported Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group.
One receiver, in particular, already has impressed Palmer: Darrius Heyward-Bey, who’s caught 27 passes for a team-best 434 yards this season.
“He works really hard,” Palmer told Vittorio Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s obviously fast. He can be a complete receiver.”
