JaMarcus Russell gives damning take on Raiders environment

To say the least, JaMarcus Russell’s NFL career did not go as planned. He played in just 31 career games over three seasons in Oakland after the Raiders drafted him No. 1 overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. The LSU product never found his footing in the league amidst a ton of scrutiny aimed at him. In Russell’s words, though, he believes the NFL and Raiders doomed him from the start.

Russell discussed his career on a recent episode of “The Pivot“. He says he didn’t get the same treatment from the NFL based on how they advertise certain players at the forefront.

“I don’t think it went that way. How today’s game goes where they set everything up to make this guy be our guy? We want to make this for this guy? No. No way possible. I didn’t see it,” said Russell.

Russell threw for 6,625 yards and 52 touchdowns over three seasons in Baton Rouge. As one of just two QBs taken in the first round in 2007, he clearly set himself apart as the lead man in the class. However, he says that wasn’t the case with the Raiders. Although they did select him with the first pick, Russell says he now knows that some within the organization didn’t wish to do so.

“I found out later that (the Raiders) didn’t even want to draft me,” Russell said. “I kind of felt like, damn, maybe that’s why all (this) went on but I don’t know. Who’s to say?”

Russell has gone down as a pretty big NFL “What If?” question. He went from top pick to a player who went just 7-18 as a starter, threw for only 4,083 yards, and retired with more interceptions than touchdowns. This new layer Russell shared about the NFL and Raider’s treatment of him only makes his shortcoming as a player even more unpleasant.