The Oakland Raiders released JaMarcus Russell on Thursday after three dreadful seasons for the number one overall pick in the 2007 draft. Russell earned $39 million guaranteed and in return gave the Raiders seven wins in 25 starts. His career numbers -18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 25 fumbles, 52.1 completion percentage and a 65.2 passer rating- combined with his reported lack of work ethic finally convinced Al Davis to give up on his prized selection. Somewhere Mel Kiper is eating a JaMarcus-sized serving of crow.
The one positive for Russell is that he stuck with the status quo in Oaktown. The Raiders were 15-49 in the four seasons before Russell and 14-34 in the three years with him. The team was 7-18 when he started and 7-16 when he didn’t. JaMarcus wasn’t the sole reason for Oakland’s problems but you can’t have that much dead-weight on an already sinking ship.
Raider Nation was ecstatic about Russell’s release and celebrated by giving his jersey the treatment usually reserved for guys like Tony Romo, Jay Cutler or Ochocinco: They burned it.
