There are a few theories as to what’s going on in Oakland.
(1) The Raiders and JaMarcus Russell are playing a high stakes game of chicken.
(2) The Raiders want to get Russell to take a pay cut.
(3) No one really has any idea what’s going on, including Raiders employees, with the exception of Al Davis.
This sensible third option was presented by Nancy Gay of AOL Fanhouse, with the help of two Raiders team sources. “Things change by the minute here,” one Raiders source said.
“Don’t know anymore,” another one told her, when asked about Russell’s status.
If people inside the building don’t know jack, we can’t really know, either. But Gay wisely points out how hard it would be for Davis to dump his top pick by reprinting a section of Davis’ infamous letter to Lane Kiffin two years ago:
“I do realize that you did not want us to draft JaMarcus Russell,” Davis wrote. “He is a great player. Get over it and coach this team on the field, that is what you were hired to do. We can win with this team!”