When the topic of draft busts comes up twenty years from now, it would be hard to imagine the name JaMarcus Russell going unmentioned. Russell was the top overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He signed a six-year, $62 million deal with the Raiders that included $31 million in guaranteed money. A 65.2 career passer rating later, he and Oakland have absolutely nothing to show for it.
Russell has been called a “binge eater” and had his jersey torched by Raiders fans. When Hall of Fame wide receiver and fellow Raider Tim Brown tried to give him guidance early in his career, JaMarcus refused. Between the purple drank scandal and no NFL team even wanting to speak to the former LSU Tiger, Russell’s career was as close to dead as it could get. Now that his life coach, John Lucas, has given up on him, the end has likely come.
Sources told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday that Lucas has parted ways with Russell and asked him to leave Houston. Considering Lucas has helped plenty of athletes with drug addictions and other problems, he must really view Russell as a lost cause. JaMarcus worked hard when he started meeting with Lucas but his motivation started to slip and began wearing on his life coach back in December, according to the sources.
The idea of a life coach is to help a person out of a tough time that they can’t get themself through. When a life coach gives up on you, that is the ultimate signal that you’re all alone. I don’t wish the worst for Russell by any means, but I think it’s safe to say his NFL career is completely over.
