Ex-Raider JaMarcus Russell Trying To Make NFL comeback
OAKLAND (CBS Sports) -- Former Oakland Raider JaMarcus Russell has lost a few pounds and is attempting an NFL comeback.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Russell is down to 308 pounds and "has been focusing on cardio conditioning the past six weeks" to get down from the 320 pounds he weighed in the fall.
Russell, who is just 27, hasn't played in the NFL since 2009.
"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 told Yahoo! Sports.
"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 to show them I'm not. I'm committed to this now," he said.
Russell attempted a comeback in October of 2010 after doing an in-depth interview with the TV show 'Inside the NFL' on Showtime about his struggles, including the foreclosure on his home. A month later, the Miami Dolphins were reportedly interested in bringing him in for a tryout after losing Chad Pennington and Chad Henne to injury on the same day, but ultimately nothing materialized.
This time around, Russell's got, according to Yahoo!, the help of a lot of big names, including his mentor Mike Clayton (formerly of LSU, drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Russell will be working out at TEST Football Academy, reportedly with Jeff Garcia and Marshall Faulk among others.
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