I mean really, why even go through the motions at this point? It’s obvious that JaMarcus Russell just doesn’t care about playing professional football.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Russell was a no-show for the start of the Raiders’ offseason conditioning program on Monday. This wouldn’t be a big deal if Russell were already established, but this is the same player that has been criticized profusely about his lack of dedication and work ethic. He’s also entering what should be a make-or-break year so one would assume that he would want to show up to all of the Raiders’ offseason workouts in order to save face with the franchise that paid him $61 million to, thus far, do absolutely nothing.
Of course, if Russell were a member of any other NFL franchise he would be cut by now. But because the Raiders are a dysfunctional mess led by a dysfunctional owner, he still has the opportunity to win their starting quarterback job again this season. (Although he’s already put himself behind the 8-ball once again after Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye showed up to the workouts today.)
Not to sound like a bitter sports writer that didn’t have the talent to make it in the NFL (or anything above the high school level for that matter), but it pisses me off that Russell was given this much talent and he’s just throwing it away. He’s flat out stealing money from the Raiders and even if Al Davis doesn’t care, players with more heart and less talent that never got a shot in the NFL should. If he doesn’t want to play, he should do the respectful thing and just quit.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
