Jordan owners sit tight

[ethnics]

I expect Baby LJ to go to KC, Denver, or NE. I suppose he could end up in GB, Houston, or Buff as well. But most likely, he won't be released and the Raiders will screw him for the rest of the season Al Davis style...

[Gunther]

edit: double post

Edited November 21, 2007 by Gunther

[RaiderSteve]

This news just in:

 

No practice for Bush

Posted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on November 21st, 2007

On one field, running back Michael Bush was put through a workout by Raiders training staff along with Jonathan Holland, a wide receiver on injured reserve.

 

On another field, LaMont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes were in full uniform, off to the side, talking to each other as their teammates went through special teams drills.

 

The Raiders have made no official announcements, but it appears the threat of Jordan winding up in a Kansas City Chiefs jersey this weekend has trumped the possibility of Bush seeing action this season as a running back.

 

Wednesday was the deadline for the Raiders to put Bush on the 53-man roster. There was speculation Jordan could be released to make room, and reports that he had asked for his release.

 

If Jordan were to be released, he would be subjected to the waiver process, meaning any team in need of a running back could claim him at the pro-rated salary of a little under $353,000 for the remainder of the season.

 

The Chiefs, who are missing Larry Johnson and with Priest Holmes expected to announce his retirement Wednesday, would have a shot at claiming Jordan with a 4-6 record. If the Chiefs passed, Denver, at 5-5, would also have a shot.

 

The lone new face at practice was Seth Wand, an offensive tackle released by Tennessee at the end of training camp. A Raiders spokesman did not know whether Wand was on the practice squad or 53-man roster.

 

Among those players missing from practice were right tackle Cornell Green, who sustained a knee injury in Minnesota and was replaced by Paul McQuistan, and center Jake Grove, who was inactive with a knee injury.

 

Players who were practicing included cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who left the Minnesota game after being kicked in the head, and safety Stuart Schweigert, who was in and out of the lineup with a quadriceps contusion.

 

Assuming Bush is not on the 53-man roster, he could either be left on the Physically Unable to Perform list or placed on injured reserve. If put on injured reserve, he wouldn't be able to attend meetings with the rest of the team.

 

Bush has been playing as a scout team running back the past 21 days and has been enthused by his progress. Coach Lane Kiffin had seemed optimistic about the possiblity of Bush being put on the roster before the end of the season.

 

Jordan's contract calls for salaries of $4.7 and $5 million in 2008 and 2009, but made $1 million in salary this season. If put on waivers, the team that claimed him would be on the hook for six-seventeenths of his his salary and then either renegotiate a new contract or cut him following the season.

[Gunther]

Thanks for the info RaiderSteve! I see that SF Gate and Rotoworld have also picked up on this.

 

One name I can remove from my WW wish list.

[Randall]

The Raiders have made no official announcements, but it appears the threat of Jordan winding up in a Kansas City Chiefs jersey this weekend has trumped the possibility of Bush seeing action this season as a running back.

 

Wednesday was the deadline for the Raiders to put Bush on the 53-man roster. There was speculation Jordan could be released to make room, and reports that he had asked for his release.

 

If Jordan were to be released, he would be subjected to the waiver process, meaning any team in need of a running back could claim him at the pro-rated salary of a little under $353,000 for the remainder of the season.

 

 

Al Davis still remembers Marcus Allen in a Chiefs uniform and I bet he'd keep Jordan just to spite the Chiefs.

[ThatDude]

I picked up Jordan earlier this morning. Is it official that he's staying with the Raiders now or is there still a chance he can get released next week or after that? If he's going to remain a Raider I would like to dump him and grab someone else.

[Marshy]

Any more news?

[Gunther]

(11-21) 20:55 PST Alameda -- Raiders rookie Michael Bush isn't going on the 53-man roster, and LaMont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes aren't going elsewhere, which means three of four Oakland tailbacks can't be happy about their situation.

 

The Raiders put Bush back on the reserve/non-football injury list Wednesday, which means he cannot play this season. He hoped to play the final six games of the season after missing football for 14 months with a serious leg fracture.

 

To activate Bush, someone would have needed to be cut - most likely Jordan or Rhodes. Coach Lane Kiffin decided against that, in part, because he doesn't want either running back signing with a division opponent and coming back to haunt him.

 

"Like the team we're playing Sunday?" Kiffin said, pointing to the game at Kansas City. "Sure, yeah, everything counts. You've got to look at everything, and I'm sure that's a part of it.

 

"Denver and Kansas City need a running back."

 

Indeed, Chiefs running back Priest Holmes retired Wednesday, ending a brief comeback from serious neck and head injuries after re-injuring his neck Sunday.

 

With Larry Johnson also hurt, Chiefs rookie Colby Smith will make his first NFL start against the Raiders. Smith was Bush's backup at Louisville.

 

That's right: Bush couldn't crack the Raiders' roster as a rookie, but his college backup is now an NFL starter. Not even Jordan and Rhodes, both starters last year, can boast that.

 

"Bush is a good dude," Rhodes said. "He has been working hard to get himself prepared to play again. This is going to be two years where he won't get to step on the field, and I know he was really looking forward to getting a shot again and show some people what he can do."

 

Bush, who can attend team meetings but no longer can practice, was not available for comment Wednesday.

 

He spent the first six weeks of the season on the reserve list. Such players can rejoin practice between Weeks 6 and 9, but once they practice, teams have 21 days to activate them or put them back on the reserve list for the remainder of the season.

 

Bush's deadline was 1 p.m. Wednesday. Kiffin broke the news in the morning, and said Bush was disappointed not to get a chance.

 

"Sure, especially because he had looked good (and) done some good things," Kiffin said. "To work your way back and, all of a sudden, it's a long time until he gets to play again. ... I'm sure he was upset.

 

"I think it would have helped him (to play), sure, but you've got to look at the whole thing."

 

The big picture includes keeping the other running backs out of an opponent's hands - even when the staff apparently thinks the said players aren't good enough to play much for a 2-8 team.

 

Jordan, the starter for two-plus seasons, asked for his release this week after not playing in two straight games. If the Raiders would have obliged, it's very likely the Chiefs would have grabbed him immediately - Jordan played for K.C. coach Herm Edwards with the Jets - and used him Sunday.

 

Instead, Bush must wait another year to play while Rhodes and Jordan will continue to compete for limited backup snaps behind Justin Fargas, wondering where they went wrong.

 

Rhodes signed with the Raiders as a free agent in the offseason. He said he likely wouldn't have come if he knew he'd have only 12 carries by Thanksgiving.

 

"I have put a good product on the field, and I'm not really understanding why I can't get a shot here," Rhodes said. "Basically, I just want to help this team win. Hopefully, my opportunity will come sooner or later."

 

Green done: Starting right tackle Cornell Green was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list with a right foot injury.

 

Left guard Robert Gallery and second-year tackle Paul McQuistan shared snaps at right tackle, and Kiffin likely won't make a decision on the position until Friday.

 

Gallery played his first two seasons at right tackle and has been on the left side of the line the past two years, so that would be an adjustment.

 

"Everything is opposite," Gallery said. "Getting the footwork down takes time, but they're going to do what's best for the football team."

 

The Raiders signed tackle Seth Wands to fill Green's roster spot. Wands is a fifth-year player who was cut by the Titans in training camp.

 

-- Listen to the latest Raiders and 49ers podcasts at sfgate.com/podcasts.