Jamarcus Russell story

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Check out some of the other players who were drafted in the first round after the Raiders whiffed on Russell:Joe Thomas, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch, Darrelle Revis, Dwayne Bowe, Jon Beason, Joe Staley and Greg Olsen. Boy did the Raiders screw that up!

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He's the #1 all-time bust and nobody else is close.

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At the 1991 NFL Draft the Raiders selected Marinovich in the first round; he was the 24th pick overall and the second quarterback taken—ahead of Brett Favre—signing a three-year, $2.25 million deal. Marinovich made his NFL debut on Monday Night Football, in an exhibition game against the Dallas Cowboys on August 12, 1991. Entering the game with 15 minutes remaining, he moved the Raiders downfield, completing three of four passes for 16 yards and a touchdown. He did not start a game until Jay Schroeder was injured before the final week of the season, where he impressed observers with 23 completions in 40 passes for 243 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in a close loss.[1] Because of this great debut he started the following week against the Chiefs in the playoffs, but was very poor, throwing for just 140 yards with 4 interceptions in a 10-6 loss and smashing a locker room mirror with his helmet after the game.

After the Raiders began 0-2 in 1992 with Schroeder as quarterback, Marinovich became the starter. He threw for 395 yards in a loss in his first start that season and lost the following week as the Raiders started 0-4. He then won three of his next four games before losing to the Dallas Cowboys. Marinovich's best game during that span was against the Buffalo Bills on October 11, 1992, in which he completed 11 of 21 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-3 victory.[9] The following week Marinovich started against the Philadelphia Eagles, seeing three of his first 10 passes intercepted. Schroeder regained the starting job and Marinovich never played again in the NFL.

Marinovich had serious substance abuse issues throughout his NFL career. During his rookie season he increased his partying and drug use beyond marijuana, including taking pharmaceutical amphetamines before games. Because of his college arrest for cocaine possession, the NFL required him to submit to frequent drug tests. Marinovich passed the tests using friends' urine, but after using the urine of a teammate who had been drinking heavily, the test registered a blood-alcohol level four times the legal limit and caused the Raiders to force him into rehabilitation. The Raiders held an intervention for him after the season, and Marinovich spent 45 days at a rehab facility. In the 1992 season Marinovich shifted to using LSD after games because it would not show up on the drug test. His play suffered and his coaches complained he was not grasping the complex offense. He failed his second NFL drug test and went back into rehab. In training camp before the 1993 season, Marinovich failed his third NFL drug test, this time for marijuana, and was suspended for the 1993 season. The Raiders released Marinovich on the final cutdown, choosing not to pay for Marinovich's salary while being suspended in the year before the salary cap would go into effect.[5]

In 1994, once Marinovich's suspension was lifted, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed some interest in signing him to be their third-string quarterback behind Neil O'Donnell and Mike Tomczak. Marinovich, not liking the culture of the NFL, chose not to return to the NFL. The Steelers ended up turning to the NFL Draft instead, drafting Jim Miller.[5]

Post-NFL[edit]
After traveling for two years Marinovich attempted to join the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, but blew out his knee on the first day of training camp. During recovery one of his high school friends introduced him to heroin. Soon after Marinovich was arrested for drug possession and served three months in various jails.[1]

In April 1999 Marinovich was cleared to reenter the NFL, but suffered a herniated disk playing recreational basketball. That summer he tried out and received interest from the San Diego Chargers and the Chicago Bears, but failed the physical examination. So he signed as a backup quarterback with the BC Lions of the CFL. His use of heroin and cocaine increased and his weight dropped, as he would spend almost all of his free time using drugs. At one point Marinovich severely cut his hand with a crack pipe during halftime and had to covertly bandage himself. Despite being asked to stay with the team for another season, he realized he was in a bad situation and left the team.[1]

Marinovich returned to Los Angeles in 2000 and joined the expansion Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. Despite undergoing severe heroin withdrawal he had a strong season, tying the record for most touchdowns in a single game by throwing 10 touchdowns against the Houston Thunderbears. Marinovich was named to the all-rookie team, and as the Avengers' franchise player, but the day he received his signing bonus he was arrested for buying heroin. Marinovich's career continued to fall apart, as he was ejected from subsequent games for throwing things at referees, and eventually was suspended from the team in 2001.

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