JaMarcus Russell is working out with former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia to help with a comeback to the league and in a recent video with Bleacher Report, the former number one overall pick shows his progress so far.
According to Bleacher Report, the website is following Russell's comeback to the league and the former Williamson High School star has been training with Garcia for some time at Test West Football Academy as he hopes for another NFL chance.
The newest video in the series shows Russell passing to receivers on the field and is called "JaMarcus Russell Airs It Out."
"When we look at his throwing motion, his mechanics, he is very effortless," Garcia said. "He has a great release. ...The guy can flick it."
Garcia is helping the quarterback with his throwing motion and footwork and Russell has also dropped considerable weight from a few years ago. The 27-year-old is young enough that he can salvage his career after being drafted number one overall by the Raiders in 2007, but he will have a ton of convincing to do.
"You can't get lazy with your feet." - and to be cognizant of not tipping off the direction of his passes with his setup in the pocket," Garcia says in the video.
In the video last week, Russell did the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and broad jump and started his work at Test West weighing 310 pounds, down from the reported 350 he was a couple years ago.
The 27-year-old quarterback came out of LSU, where he went 21-4 as a starter and won MVP of the 2007 Sugar Bowl. While with the Raiders Russell had very little success, winning just seven of 25 starts. He finished his career with 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 15 lost fumbles while completing just 52.1 percent of his passes.
"My first year out, I couldn't watch football but after a while, I couldn't keep the TV off. I got that itchy feeling but now I gotta watch it, gotta watch," Russell said.
As a rookie, Russell held out through the first week of the NFL season before signing his massive contract. The franchise had a string of losing seasons while he was quarterback of the team and when Russell was set to receive a $9.45 million salary in 2010, the Raiders released him.
Russell and quarterback Ryan Leaf are considered to be the two biggest draft busts of all-time. Leaf was the No. 2-overall pick behind Peyton Manning in 1999 and washed out of the league in a few years.
The Chargers were set back a number of years after his failure and he finished his career with just 3,666 yards passing with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. The choice between Leaf and Manning is now looked at as legendary as the Colts opted to pick the Tennessee quarterback.
Although Russell has been out of the league for many years, there's a chance a team could take a flyer on him as a backup or practice squad player. The last sniff of NFL experience for the quarterback came with tryouts with the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins in 2010.
