JaMarcus Russell Holdout Continues

Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Oakland Raiders and #1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell are no closer today than they were at any point since negotiations began, and Russell has every intention of sitting out should he not get the deal he wants.

Raiders owner Al Davis, Russell and his agents all have pointed fingers in different directions as to why no progress is being made. In the end, as we all know, it simply comes down to cold hard $. The sticking point appears to be that Russell wants $29 million in a full "skill" guarantee, while the Raiders are not willing to offer anything remotely close to that.

Cole writes, "there have been 15 players drafted No. 1 overall since 1993. According to an NFL Players Association source, none of them has received a contract that did not include the skill and injury guarantees."

While I have no doubts Russell is probably going a little over the top in regards to money, Calvin Johnson DID just sign a contract with $64 million, $27 of which falls under a "skill" guarantee. So, what Russell is asking for is not without precedent. Especially considering Russell was indeed the #1 overall pick, thus he should be more valuable to his franchise.

The question here is not whether Russell and the Raiders eventually agree to terms...they will. But bigger question is just how will this effect Russell's playing time. At this point, I view it the same way as I do the Prima Donna Quinn situation over in Cleveland -- if either one of these two QB's are not in camp by the 2nd pre-season game, you might as well write them off for the entire season, as they will not know the plays nor have any connection with the players.

Russell is still a fairly safe bet in keeper leagues; however, I do worry about his weight situation. He has the "opportunity" (for lack of a better word) to blow up -- either in statistics or in pant size. The former would be a lot more beneficial to us fantasy owners out there. If the latter comes, you might want to invest in whoever the Oakland Raiders catering service is.