Russell to Workout for the Bears, Richardson May Be Out Until August

After numerous stories about his desire to return to the NFL, his cancelled pro day and his not so fighting football weight, former league quarterback JaMarcus Russell is getting closer to a potential league paycheck.

On Friday, Russell will visit the Chicago Bears.

JaMarcus Russell

He will join three other quarterbacks for this end-of-week meeting, reported ESPN, in his 2007 weight–265 pounds–that came with him when the Oakland Raiders made him the No. 1 overall pick.

But Friday’s visit doesn’t necessarily mean a signing will immediately take place. Russell will first need to have a solid performance and the Bears will need to determine if Friday’s quarterback cattle call is really going to warrant an addition for training camp. Its stable is already a little crowded with quarterbacks Jay Cutler, Josh McCown and Matt Blanchard.

Russell has previously said he’d like to sign with a team that will provide an opportunity for him to learn from a veteran quarterback. He is also open to signing with a CFL team should nothing transpire in the NFL in the next 30 to 45 days.

The Baltimore Ravens are rumored to have an interest, reported USA Today, as well as a third mystery team–possibly one from the NFC West.

The former league quarterback has been on a mission to return, announcing his intentions back in January when he was tipping the scales at 320 pounds. He spent time working out with Brian Martin of TEST Football Academy and TEST West and had scheduled an April pro day that had been cancelled due to a lack of interest from NFL teams.

For Russell, regardless of where he lands, he’ll have some rust to shake off as he hasn’t taken a snap since 2009 with the Raiders. In his three seasons with the team with a $39 million payday, he had 25 starts, winning only seven of them. His stats included a 52.1 percent pass completion (65.2 passer rating), 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

Since leaving football, the wheels came off as Russell had been charged with a felony possession of a controlled substance in July 2010. A grand jury did indict him on the charges. In November of that year, Russell had workouts with the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins but these didn’t go anywhere.

Faster forward to 2013 and Russell is looking for another chance.

Should he join the Bears, they are 8 1/2 (-130) for their 2013 regular season win total and +3300 by Bovada to win the 2014 Super Bowl.

Richardson May Be Sidelined Until August 

Trent Richardson

Last week, Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson stood on the sidelines with a pulled calf muscle, watching his team participate in OTAs. The injury supposedly happened two weeks ago when someone stepped on Richardson’s shin in practice, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Right away the media machine started questioning if Richardson is injury prone and whether this would be his downfall for a potentially successful NFL career.

It was hard to not agree with that as the player’s 2012 rookie season started with a preseason absence due to a knee injury and regular season ailments that included broken ribs and a sprained ankle to end things.

Richardson still wracked up 950 rushing yards with 11 touchdowns in these less than 100 percent healthy conditions.

But will this continue into his sophomore season?

On Tuesday, the Browns said Richardson may be held out until August as they are taking extra precautions. His injury could possibly develop into a stress fracture, tweeted ESPN’s Will Burge.  Barring any further problems, Browns coach Rob Chudzinski believes Richardson should be ready at the beginning of training camp.

For the Browns, this season will include a lot of change but possibly a dismal one as they sit with a six regular-season win total (115 o/u).