JaMarcus Russell may not have a criminal record or several court cases coming up, but he's about as rancid as any player in the league. The man was the top overall pick in the draft four years ago and now nobody wants anything to do with him.
Which makes Russell to the Cincinnati Bengals perfect sense.
This is the franchise that has given second chances to ... well ... everyone. Two years ago, Cedric Benson was jobless in Texas before the Bengals snatched him up. No one wanted Larry Johnson last year and they picked him up. In this offseason, the ostracized Matt Jones and Pacman Jones ... neither of which played last season ... signed with Cincy. They are willing to draft guys that other teams ban from their draft boards.
So why not Russell? The Bengals sure could use a backup to Carson Palmer. Russell could use a job with no pressure. He could also use an owner who isn't concerned by what people think about him to take a chance on him. Al Davis did it -- now it's Mike Brown's turn. He is the perfect reclamation project for Brown and could actually be his legendary moment. If he can get Russell to be a capable quarterback in this league, it might be a steal. Of course, that probably won't happen ... but it could very well be a low risk/high reward kind of a deal.
The difference is that these other "projects" were decent players who had outside issues keeping them out of the league. Russell is far from a decent player and who honestly believes that the Bengals have the coaching to make him into a serviceable QB?
Which makes Russell to the Cincinnati Bengals perfect sense.
This is the franchise that has given second chances to ... well ... everyone. Two years ago, Cedric Benson was jobless in Texas before the Bengals snatched him up. No one wanted Larry Johnson last year and they picked him up. In this offseason, the ostracized Matt Jones and Pacman Jones ... neither of which played last season ... signed with Cincy. They are willing to draft guys that other teams ban from their draft boards.
So why not Russell? The Bengals sure could use a backup to Carson Palmer. Russell could use a job with no pressure. He could also use an owner who isn't concerned by what people think about him to take a chance on him. Al Davis did it -- now it's Mike Brown's turn. He is the perfect reclamation project for Brown and could actually be his legendary moment. If he can get Russell to be a capable quarterback in this league, it might be a steal. Of course, that probably won't happen ... but it could very well be a low risk/high reward kind of a deal.
The difference is that these other "projects" were decent players who had outside issues keeping them out of the league. Russell is far from a decent player and who honestly believes that the Bengals have the coaching to make him into a serviceable QB?
2 comments:
Interesting story but very true. Out of all the media and sports stories about this guy all ive heard is that. Russell has sick arm strenght and talent. So that being the case it would be very cool to see a team take a chance. They could pick him up very cheap and work on his skills. Also this may be a wake up call for JaMarcus to see he needs to care about the game and his team. Its up to him to become an effective QB in this league.
Nice Jet, go ahead spend all that free money. I'm thinking he should be taking Greyhound! Now maybe the Raiders can get on the right track.
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