OAKLAND, Calif. -- JaMarcus Russell made his NFL debut for
the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, entering the game in the second
quarter against the Denver Broncos.
Russell, the No. 1 overall draft pick in April, had been brought
along slowly after missing all of training camp and the exhibition
season in a contract dispute. He signed a deal that guaranteed him
at least $29 million three days after the season opener.
Russell has been working mostly with the scout team and in extra
practice sessions designed to help him catch up. Russell got some
work with the first team this week because of a quadriceps injury
to starter Daunte Culpepper.
Coach Lane Kiffin said recently that he wanted to use Russell
for a few series at a time at first, to keep him out of difficult
situations like the two-minute drill. By making him the
second-string quarterback this week, Kiffin was able to make that
happen this week.
Russell entered to a standing ovation with 13:48 remaining in
the second quarter and completed a 16-yard pass to Jerry Porter on
his first play.
By NFL rules, if the No. 3 quarterback plays before the fourth
quarter, the first two quarterbacks aren't allowed back into the
game. Andrew Walter was the third quarterback.
Josh McCown started at quarterback for Oakland and threw a
17-yard TD pass to Tim Dwight on the game's opening drive.
Culpepper missed much of practice this week with a sore right
quadriceps and was on the inactive list for this game because of
the injury. That gave McCown his sixth start off the season and
first since Nov. 11 against Chicago despite having two dislocated
joints in his non-throwing left pinkie.
Running back Dominic Rhodes was also inactive for Oakland. One
of the team's top offseason free-agent signings, Rhodes has seen
little time as Justin Fargas has seized most of running
opportunities.
Denver running back Andre Hall, who rushed for 98 yards last
week against Chicago despite a high ankle sprain, was inactive.
Travis Henry returned to the lineup after missing the last three
games with an injured left knee.