Aaron Brooks Released

Slow news day when this is the biggest story, huh? I mean seriously, who gives a crap about Aaron Brooks? Regardless, the Oakland Raiders released him today. He was due a $5 million dollar signing bonus that the Raiders obviously had no intention of paying. He's been pretty terrible the last two years, although I believe that masks that he can still be a decent QB. Two years ago was his worst professional season in terms of QB rating, but it was under the adverse conditions of New Orleans. That was probably the hardest situation a football team has ever endured over the course of the season, so he gets somewhat of a pass for that. Last season he played behind a horrible offensive line, with malcontent WRs (R. Moss, Porter), for a coach and offensive coordinator that had no idea how to do their jobs. He gets somewhat of a pass for that as well.

That being said, questionable mental toughness and decision making have plagued his career throughout and he's only put together one really good season in 2003 (88.8 QB rating, 24/8 TD/INT). He's still relatively young at 31 and can provide a decent backup QB option for a team in need. He's always had a nice arm and good mobility, but his mental breakdowns have prevented him from cashing in on his physical talent. This is a very strong indication that the Raiders will take Jamarcus Russell #1 overall in the 2007 draft. I presume the Raiders will shop around for a solid veteran QB this offseason to provide a tutor for Russell, if they select him. Although, much to the dismay of Raiders fans, they could have accomplished the same thing by restructuring Brooks' contract, playing him the first half of the season, and simply saying "Hey Jamarcus, see what Aaron's doing out there? Don't do that."

In other Raiders news, Jerry Porter has changed his number from #84 to #81 and claims to be refocused after last season's falling out with the Raiders coaching staff. Maybe he should change the name on the back of his jersey to "Don't Throw Here" since he probably won't be paying attention to the QB anyways. Randy Moss also reportedly told new coach Steve Sarksian over the phone that "he won't play for a 31 year old coach". I'm sure Jamarcus Russell is thrilled reading all of this.

Fantasy Impact: Lotta ifs here. Assuming this is paving the way for Russell to be the next Raiders QB, it'll be a camp battle between Andrew Walter and Russell for the starting Raiders QB position as it sits right now. As I mentioned before, the Raiders might look into the veteran QB market. Randy Moss would be a very risky WR3 in either scenario, if he's even on the team. If Moss departs, Ronald Curry and Jerry Porter will sit atop the depth chart at WR, with Doug Gabriel set to compete to start as well. If a solid veteran is signed and starts, Curry could be a nice late round sleeper. If Russell starts, all Raiders WRs become guys to monitor on the waiver wire since they won't be worth much to start. If I had to guess, LaMont Jordan's job should be safe, but the regime change might lead to a different running game philosophy (thank God for this after last season, huh Oakland?) that might or might not suit Jordan's strengths. Too many unknowns about this organzation right now.