In the final round of roster cuts, the Raiders made national headlines by cutting Jeff Garcia.  Some saw Garcia as the spark that would hopefully light a fire under the Raiders’ crown jewel, QB JaMarcus Russell, and someone to motivate him to be an elite leader. 

Others saw Garcia as the potential starter for the Raiders, who would overtake Russell as the Raiders’ No. 1 man.  From his arrival to the Raiders, Garcia made his intentions clear; he wanted the starting QB job.

Early reports listed Garcia as one of the top backups in the league, and gave the Raiders a viable insurance policy if Russell got injured or struggled.  Garcia himself, however, was the one injury-plagued throughout training camp.  Russell’s training camp performance, though inconsistent at times, was an improvement overall. 

His leadership, accuracy, and attitude largely pleased the Raiders’ staff.  At the same time, a third string battle between Charlie Frye and Bruce Gradkowski was impressing coaches, including head coach Tom Cable.  Often, Cable stated that the battle between Frye and Gradkowski was too close to call. 

None of these events, the third string competition, Garcia’s injuries, or Russell’s development, helped cement Garcia’s security with the Raiders.

What does this mean for the Team of the Decades?  For starters, this reinforces the belief that Russell is the future of the Raiders.  If the organization had doubts about that, they would not have left the backup position to Frye or Gradkowski. 

Garcia would have been on stand-by to fill in for Russell, and then the Raiders would have likely begun searching for a new face of the franchise.  It also means that Tom Cable is working hard to maintain simplicity in his organization. 

Garcia, an entertaining, “scrappy” quarterback who is a proven winner, was openly not satisfied with the role of a backup or mentor to Russell.  He believes he is still a starter, and may prove to be with another team.  Cable eliminated a “quarterback controversy” even though most true Raiders fans knew that Russell would be named starter barring injury or severe behavioral issues. 

Finally, this is another sign that the Raiders are built for youth, strength, and speed.  While the Raiders have some veterans such as Greg Ellis and the great Nnamdi Asomugha defensively, offensively, true veterans are scarce.  The only veteran on the receiving corps is Javon Walker (I seriously saw one report calling Chaz Schilens a veteran…he is in his second year).

Lorenzo Neal was cut in favor of young fullback Oren O’Neil.  Garcia was cut with two backups, both under 30, to replace him.  Justin Fargas, who some consider the heart and soul of this team, has two young future Pro-Bowlers alongside him in the backfield in DMC and Michael Bush.

This is a team that, although they will make some mistakes this year, is young, eager to learn, and goes into the year with a team-first mentality.  Jeff Garcia, though a talented quarterback, just didn’t fit in with this Raiders team.