The Raiders cut former No. 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell three years ago, and since then no other team has brought him in. So if you figure you’ve seen the last of Russell on an NFL roster, that seems like a reasonable conclusion.
But there’s at least one person with an NFL team who believes Russell will be in some team’s training camp four months from now. Mike Freeman of CBS talked to an NFC scout who said that teams are keeping an eye on Russell as he tries to get himself back in football shape and get on the field again.
“I’ve been following his comeback story pretty closely. I think a lot of teams are. Good chance he gets a second shot,” the scout said.
What Russell has going for him is that he has great physical talent for the quarterback position, and he’s still only 27 years old. When you’ve got the talent to be an elite quarterback, you can usually find teams willing to give you a second, third and fourth shot. Even Ryan Leaf, who like Russell was cut by the team that drafted him after three years, got another shot.
Still, Russell was there for the taking in 2010, 2011 and 2012, and for three straight seasons zero NFL teams wanted him. It seems unlikely that any team would want him in 2013.