Oakland Raiders head coach is sticking with Bruce Gradkowski
Oakland Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski completed only one pass before leaving the game with a shoulder injury on Sunday, October 10.
The Raiders went on to upset the San Diego Chargers 35-27, with backup Jason Campbell doing most of the work at quarterback as Gradkowski's replacement. Despite a solid performance from Campbell, Raiders head coach Tom Cable has announced that if Gradkowski's
shoulder is ready, then he will get the start next week when the Raiders take on the San Francisco 49ers.
Gradkowski suffered a sprained shoulder and underwent an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.
Campbell, who came over from the Washington Redskins in the off-season, was impressive in place of Gradkowski and helped lead the Raiders to their improbable win. He's had a rough time of it in Oakland, and he explained what he's been going through as the
team's back up.
"It's been a long year already for me. It started back from the time I was traded. Starting the season off, I was putting too much pressure on myself to make all the plays because of the high hopes for me this season, instead of just relaxing and playing
the game and let[ting] the game come to you. I tried to force the game. That's one of the things I learned over the weeks when I was sitting out and doing the self-evaluation on myself and getting to learn the offence a little better."
Gradkowski had not put up stellar numbers before going down against San Diego. He sits in 28th in the NFL with a 71.1 quarterback rating and has completed only 52 percent of his passes.
Gradkowski became the Raiders starting quarterback last season after JaMarcus Russell left the team.
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