No. 1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell, sit down. No. 194 draft pick Bruce Gradkowski, you're up.
Jamarcus Russell Benched; Bruce Gradkowski Named Raiders Starter
The Raiders and head coach Tom Cable will start Gradkowski on Sunday over Russell who has been a major, thus-far irredeemable bust since being draft first overall in the 2007 draft:
Coach Tom Cable made the announcement of the change following practice as the Raiders (2-7) prepare to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Cable said this was not a temporary move, that his plan is to stick with Gradkowski.
"I don't want to be like that," he said. "This is where we're headed and what we're going to do. He'll take this team and go with it."
Perhaps this will go down in the future as a Vince Young-Kerry Collins type move that happened to the Titans earlier in the season: lose, lose, lose, change quarterbacks, win, win, win. Maybe JaMarcus Russell will do that in 2010 or 2011. Or maybe not.
Gradkowski has attempted 29 passes on the season in three games, but Sunday will be his first start. He has thrown no touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 55 percent of his passes.
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