The comeback of JaMarcus Russell has continued to grow steam. The quarterback is showing that he is physically ready for the game, dropping over 25 pounds in preparation. He is attempting to erase the word "bust" from his name after failing to live up to expectations. Now, teams are beginning to call his number, showing legitimate interest in signing him. The Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals are two teams who have emerged as the overall favorites to land Russell and complete his comeback.
Russell was a former No.1 overall draft pick. The Oakland Raiders selected him in the 2007 draft out of LSU. He was expected to be the face of the franchise after an impressive college career. However, that never happened. Russell gained a reputation of having a lazy work ethic and he proceeded to gain weight, no longer allowing him to compete physically. After three years with the Raiders, Russell was finished. His NFL career was summed up to 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions with a 65.2 percent passer rating.
After being let go by the Raiders, Russell could not find a team willing to take a chance on him. He had financial struggles that kept him out of the game and a bad reputation that continued to haunt him. However, in recent years he grew serious about making a comeback into the league. He began training with quarterback coaches and went from 311 pounds to 270.
Despite having canceled his scheduled Pro Day in favor of private workouts with teams, multiple clubs have shown interest. The Chicago Bears have been in the market for a backup quarterback ever since losing Jason Campbell to free agency. They are thin one more quarterback to sit behind Jay Cutler and Josh McCown. The Bears want to bring in one more quarterback to compete and they believe Russell has a legitimate shot at earning the No.2 spot.
The Arizona Cardinals are another team showing interest in giving Russell a chance. The team just acquired Carson Palmer to be their new starting quarterback, but is leaving an open competition for the backup job. Ryan Lindley, Drew Stanton and Brian Hoyer are the current other quarterbacks on the Cardinals roster that would compete with Russell.
At this point, it seems that Russell will be picked up by a team prior to the 2013 season. If he continues to improve and show that he is serious about playing again, he has a shot at seeing field time.