MOBILE, Ala. — Former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell has been charged with possession of a controlled substance — codeine syrup — after being arrested at his home in Alabama on Monday, authorities said.
The 24-year-old former LSU star and the No. 1 draft choice in 2007 was arrested as part of an undercover narcotics investigation, said Mobile County Sheriff's spokeswoman Lori Myles. She would not say what led to his arrest. She said he did not have a prescription for the codeine.
Russell was booked into the city jail and released soon afterward on $2,500 bail, online records show.
The Raiders released Russell, considered one of the NFL's biggest draft busts, in May after he won only seven of his 25 starts and was benched. He completed just 52.1 percent of his passes in his career with 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 15 lost fumbles and a passer rating of 65.2.
Oakland paid Russell about $36.4 million through the 2009 season. Since the start of the common draft in 1967, only one other No. 1 pick was released this quickly in his NFL career. Indianapolis cut 1992 top pick Steve Emtman after three seasons, but that was more because of injuries than production.
Russell and his agent did not immediately return calls for comment.
Oher plans to tell his story in book
NEW YORK — The NFL star whose life inspired the book and movie “The Blind Side” is now telling his own story.
Gotham Books announced that Michael Oher's “I Beat the Odds” will be published next February.
Oher rose from poverty in Memphis, Tenn., to fame as an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens.
His story became a best-selling book by Michael Lewis and a popular movie starring Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Oher's foster mother.
Tuohy and her husband, Sean, also are working on a memoir.
Four coaches visit U.S. troops
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid said he has even greater respect for the troops fighting in Afghanistan after joining three other NFL coaches on a trip to the country during the Fourth of July weekend.
Reid said he was amazed to see guys so eager to go out and protect the United States, adding he's not sure “we really have a full grasp of what they're doing over there. The desire is amazing.”
Reid, John Fox of the Carolina Panthers, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals and Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings visited troops in Germany and Afghanistan in the NFL-USO coaches tour. The first tour last year had five coaches traveling to Iraq.
The coaches spent 2½ days visiting hundreds of soldiers at Bagram Air Field north of Kabul.
Fox said the visit was a life-changing experience for him.
“We were in an ICU, and I saw a kid who was 21. I have a son who's 23,” Fox said. “The kid is laying in a bed with a sniper rifle shot in his arm. You look at these young guys and see the sacrifices they are making, and it's just incredible.”
Ex-Hawkeye seeks job in Atlanta
IOWA CITY — Former Iowa Hawkeye offensive lineman Rob Bruggeman hopes to secure a roster spot in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.
After the 2009 NFL draft, the 6-foot-4, 293-pound Bruggeman signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He lasted with the team until the final round of cuts and then signed with Atlanta, which placed him on its practice team.
“Atlanta was a good spot for me,'' Bruggeman told the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “I could learn from an experienced center, actually a couple of them in Todd McClure and Brett Romberg. It was a good place to be my first year. I enjoyed myself.
“I don't really make expectations for anything. I just go try to do the best I can and go from there.''
Bruggeman, who was second-team All-Big Ten at Iowa in 2008, has spent most of the offseason training in Atlanta. He caught up with his former teammates, but rarely do they discuss football.
“To tell you the truth, we kind of catch up on other stuff when we hang out,'' he said.
Atlanta has 12 offensive linemen, and most teams keep about eight for the regular season. Bruggeman has worked at center and guard.
“You don't want to hope that anybody gets hurt or anything, but at the same time you want to play,'' Bruggeman said.
Former receiver joins Saints' Hall of Fame
METAIRIE, La. — Former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn has become the latest player elected to the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame.
Horn, 38, played for the Saints for seven seasons from 2000 through 2006 and was part of the first two Saints teams that won playoff games.
During his time with New Orleans, he caught 523 passes for 7,622 yards and scored a team-record 50 receiving touchdowns.
Having left the club three seasons ago, he was in his first year of eligibility for election to the club's hall of fame, which is in the Louisiana Superdome.
He was the lone player in the hall's 2010 class.
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