This may be JaMarcus Russell’s last chance to regain his job.
Now that Donovan McNabb has been traded to the Washington Redskins, the Oakland Raiders still has a need for a quarterback.
There are no sure-thing quarterbacks available on the market (perhaps former Washington starter Jason Campbell is the best quarterback who will be available) and the Raiders currently have Russell and Gradkowski, going to camp to compete for the starting job.
Gradkowski replaced Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in 2007, in November. Gradkowski was much better than Russell and he gave Oakland new life. If another quarterback isn’t brought into Oakland, he still has the edge over Russell.
It is clear Russell didn’t do enough in the early part of the offseason to convince Oakland that he is ready to be a solid starter. If he did, there’s no way the Raiders would have pursued McNabb. Russell should be embarrassed Oakland keeps looking to replace him. He has to take it personally and use it as a source of motivation.
Russell likely will never be the player Oakland drafted him to be. His chances are running out, but Sunday night, he got a reprieve. Now can he do anything about it?