The Oakland Raiders Finally Cut JaMarcus Russell

To no ones surprise the Oakland Raiders have released JaMarcus Russell who will probably win the unwanted accolade of the the worst No 1 draft pick in the history of the NFL.

However I am sure his bruised pride will be eased by the $39 million he has been paid. This equates to around $5.5m per win and his decision to effectively write off his rookie season by holding out for this massive contract was a master stroke.

One person who will be delighted by this is Ryan Leaf who can now point to Russell when anyone makes a comment about his NFL career.

The Raiders have saved themselves a few million with this move however the decision to take Jason Campbell is questionable and probably reflects the fact they are not prepared to risk the embarrassment of picking another bust QB in the draft this soon after the Russell debacle. Whether he ever throws a ball in the NFL again is questionable though and it is just possible a franchise might take a punt on the fact he was in a very poor team and could have some potential if he had someone to throw to and a line in front of him.  Whatever I wish him well and his critics should remember that even the worst NFL player is still a pretty good athlete.

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• Oakland Raiders release JaMarcus Russell (sports.espn.go.com)