No this wasn’t taken from the Onion. Former Raiders QB, JaMarcus Russell told Yahoo! Sports he’s dropped from 320 pounds to 308 pounds and is serious about football now.
“The last few years, the things going through my life, football is my job and it is how it feeds my family. People would say [that] I didn’t love the game but that pisses me off. People don’t know the real you but I want people to know the real me and see what I can do. People are always saying that I’m a bust. I want show them I’m not. I’m committed to this now.”
While Russell seems to have his priorities in order now, many teams will still be hesitant because of his July 2010 arrest for codeine syrup without a prescription. Still, Russell tries to make amends by speaking to youth groups about his bad decisions.
“I’m not looking for a pat on the shoulder from people who haven’t been there for me,” Russell said. “It feels funny not to go through a training camp, that’s just what I’m used to. It’s going to feel good to go back out there again. I will make this happen.”
The road won’t be easy for Russell to get back into the NFL as new quarterbacks will be entering the draft and veteran QBs are looking to go elsewhere. But if he can truly actualize his abilities, and get under 300 pounds, we may see him back in the NFL in a backup role.
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