How BAD Was Jamarcus Russell Actually?

A look at the career of one of the NFL's biggest all time busts.

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How BAD Was Jamarcus Russell Actually?

[MrShanester]

I love the story about how they sent him home with blank Tapes and he came back the next day and he said he learned a lot from them

[yellwberry]

Can you imagine if the Raiders were already in Las Vegas at that time? They probably wouldn’t have saw this kid until Sunday

[robbrannen]

If they had written into his contract that he gets a Big Mac for every completion, he'd be a HOFer.

[stevehorsley]

I told my brother when he held out for the big contract that he was gonna suck, the only thing he cared about was getting paid. Raiders set him up for life financially and that is all he cared about.

[imrickjamesbitch]

Damn he’s the reason why there’s a cap for rookie contracts.

[chipchaser]

When showed up to training camp weighting over 300 lbs, everybody knew it was over and he was a bust.

[neneshubby]

Here is my lasting image of Jamarcus Russell. I was at the Raiders 2009 Monday night opener vs the San Diego Chargers. Russell had just throw a TD pass with 2:34 left in the 4th quarter to give the Raiders a 20-17 lead. When the Chargers got the ball back the Coliseum was going nuts. The noise was deafening and the entire team and coaching staff was up on the Raider sidelines encouraging the defense, encouraging the fans to make noise, many were waving towels, it was a chance to start the season 1-0 and everyone was up and into it except for one guy who I noticed was leisurely sitting by himself on the bench. Jamarcus Russell. Like he could’ve cared less. He never got up the whole Chargers drive which they eventually scored and won the game. I will never forget that sight. All throughout the Chargers drive I kept looking back on the bench expecting him to get up at any moment and join his teammates and coaches cheering on the defense from the sidelines but nope, he never did, he just sat there. Then I thought, ‘well maybe he’s talking to a coach who’s going over the plan of what to do on offense if the Chargers score’ but nope, he was sitting there
by himself on the edge of the bench. That’s when I knew this guy was a hopeless case as a quarterback and leader.

[jph]

As an LSU fan, JaMarcus was okay. Their success was always a tough D and amazing running game. As his pre-draft stock rose, I was shocked. It was literally all from how far he could throw from his knees, which is a stupid barometer, bc by rule, you can't throw a pass from your knees.

[kevinramsey]

These are the draft busts that infuriate me the most. The guys with insane God-given talent that light up the world in college but piss all of it away in the pros.

[hhtptai]

THE FACT THAT THIS MAN WAS *GUARANTEED $32 MILLION* AND REPAID THE ORGANIZATION BY WATCHING BLANK TAPES.

[steelwill]

To many arm curls was his downfall..curling those burgers up to his mouth lol

[kennycai]

Pointless trivia here, but I imagine extended family gatherings are awkward for Russell, cause a distant relative of his not only was drafted in the same year as him, but his career also turned out a lot better than Russell's did. That relative's name is Marshawn Lynch, and they are second cousins, hence "distantly related".

[FrankMontes]

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”

[jasona]

"Success isn't owned, it's leased and the rent is due every day" - J.J. Watt as a member of the Houston Texans

[uncleandy]

Not sure how many people remember this but he lead a comeback victory over the Steelers once and whoever the TV announcer was compared him to Johnny Unitas...I never laughed so hard in my life

[justinlawson]

I like that he refers to Mobile, AL as a “rural town” 😂…I mean it’s no metropolis, but it’s the 4th largest city in AL 😂

[philiptallini]

I think for QBs, being the most physically gifted is actually a detriment because most of their success in high school in college is because of their physical gifts as opposed to skills they developed. Once they get to the nfl and the players are faster and stronger, they tend to flop because they don’t have the work ethic to actually learn how to dissect defenses.

[lifeinlife]

“He couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean”😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[jaydubya]

And to this day he's saying, "I still got my $32 million, though." LOL

[williamblair]

Incredible physical shape, early standout performances along with flashes of brilliance which hinted at future potential greatness in the future. It's almost as if his mental knowledge and development of skills ceased to develop, or suddenly stopped short of reaching the level required to be competitive. All successful NFL quarterbacks must reach and develop a skillset of both physical and mental toughness the rest of us probably wouldn't have the ability to comprehend or understand in today's modern position of quarterback. I hope he was able to hang on to as much of that guaranteed money as possible.