I am a 49ers fan, first and foremost, but I do pay attention to the Raiders. I'm not sure why, perhaps so that I can convince myself that as bad as the 49ers are, they could always be much, much worse. Because let's face it, the Raiders are starting to make the Lions look like a success story.And this tidbit of information won't do anything to change that perception either.
Apparently Javon Walker, who the Raiders gave a 6-year, $55 million contract to in the offseason, and is supposed to be JaMarcus Russell's main receiving threat this season, had to be talked out of retiring by Al Davis after sucking in training camp on Thursday afternoon.
There are almost too many things I have to wrap my mind around after reading that last sentence.
One, why are the Raiders paying Javon Walker, who's had one good season, $55 million again? Two, was Walker really that terrible in camp? Three, what in God's name is Al Davis doing giving anyone advice? And four, Al Davis is alive?
Needless to say, Walker, who remember got his face smashed in while he was in Vegas a month and a half ago (and then lied to police about what happened), is already shaping up to be a free agent bust of mammoth proportions. He can't seem to go to the grocery store without nearly having his career completely derailed. Which is why the Raiders clearly made a great move by signing him to that 6-year deal.
It's also scary to think that the minds of Al Davis and Walker actually came together for a period of time. We're just lucky the universe didn't cave in on itself.
Anyway, I don't think any Raiders fans have high expectations for this season, but I have a terrible feeling that even low expectations won't be met in Oakland.
Source: Al Davis talked Raiders WR Walker out of retiring [ESPN]
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