Far from the lights of the National Football League, JaMarcus Russell eyes his return.
Fear not, Raiders fans. This beguiling quarterback, widely considered among the top draft busts in league history, won't be back in Oakland. Or with any NFL team -- not yet anyway.
The American Press reported Thursday that Russell has interest in playing for the storied Louisiana Swashbucklers. For those of you lagging in your Swashbucklers lore, they belong to the Professional Indoor Football League, but the team refused to confirm or deny contact with JaMarcus or his agent.
"We are not prepared, at this time, to comment on any player-contract negotiations," Chris Meaux, the team's general manager and president, said in a statement.
Russell, the top pick in 2007 draft, was released by the Raiders in May 2010 after a troubling run marred by tales of sleeping through meetings and experimenting with "purple drank" liquid lunches -- and those were his issues off the field.
On it, Russell still has much to prove. His 7-18 record and 65.2 passer rating can't begin to tell of the mega-headaches he generated in Oakland. Rebooting his career in Louisiana, where he starred at LSU, might be his first step back, but there are many miles to go before Russell makes good on the promise he once showed.
