Top NFL Busts: From Hero to Zero (Part 3)
This is a continuation of the first and second parts of this article, discussing the top busts of the NFL.
Next, we have an Oakland Raiders’ QB, who earned $110,000 for each of his 354 completions. His name is JeMarcus Russell, and, while playing for the Louisiana State University, was named as the MVP of the Sugar Bowl in 2007.
Russell was picked in round one, pick one of the 2007 NFL Draft for $62 million, of which $32 million was guaranteed. However, in his first season with the Raiders, Russell made only two touchdowns, with four interceptions. He played better in his second
season, with six touchdowns and two interceptions, but was benched indefinitely by the head coach for poor performance. He finished the 2009 season with the lowest quarterback rating in the entire NFL.
NFL.com called Russell “the biggest draft bust in history,” while ESPN defined him as “talented but extremely disappointing.” Russell was found not guilty of possession of codeine syrup without a prescription, due to lack of evidence, in October 2010. He
is now getting his “life back together” with the help of former NBA star, John Lucas.
Akili Smith was a University of Oregon quarterback who was drafted number three in the 1999 NFL Draft. He got a $10.5 million bonus for signing with the Cincinnati Bengals, but started to go downhill from day one. Smith started in ten of his first games
with the Bengals, and lost nine of them. He stayed with the Bengals for four seasons, but played in only one game in each of his last two seasons with the Bengals. He was then picked up by the Green Bay Packers and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but displayed
just as bad performances as he had with the Bengals. In his entire NFL career, Smith had just five touchdowns, with 13 interceptions. He then retired, but then started playing in NFL Europe, and then the Canadian Football League. He was released from the Canadian
Football League soon after starting and permanently retired in October of 2007. He is now on the University of California’s football staff, as an offensive assistant. The head coach at California, Jeff Tedford, coached Smith while he was a quarterback at Oregon.
Andre Ware was a 1989 Heisman Trophy winner and had a record season of 4,699 yards, with 46 touchdowns, while playing at the University of Houston. He was the seventh pick of the first round, chosen by the Detroit Lions. Ware had skipped his last year at
Houston to join the NFL, and it was quickly realized that he was not mature enough to be a professional. He spent most of his career on the bench. He then went over to the Oakland Raiders, and then the Jacksonville Jaguars, but ended his career in 1999 with
1,112 yards and five touchdowns in 83 completions of 161 attempts.
Charles Rogers had a great start to his NFL career. After being signed by the Detroit Lions in 2003 for $55 million with a $9.1 million signing bonus, Rogers became the first rookie wide receiver in the history of the Lions to make two touchdown catches
in his first game. In five of his first games, he had an average of 11 yards per catch, but broke his collarbone in practice before his sixth game. His injury put him out for the rest of the season. He broke his collarbone again in his first game of the second
season, again missing the rest of the season. While off of the playing field due to his injuries, Rogers started smoking Cannabis and later became addicted to prescription painkillers. Amazingly, when he returned in 2005, he managed to keep his collarbone
intact. But his addiction to painkillers made him slower, contributing to only one touchdown in the entire season. He was suspended for four games because of a drug violation, followed by being cut from the Lions before his fourth season with the team. Rogers
retired from the NFL and then had many alcohol and drug related problems with the law. He violated his probation by consuming Vicodin, followed by a DUI charge, and then passing out from alcohol consumption at a restaurant in Michigan. In April 2010, Rogers
was ordered to return $6.1 million of his signing bonus to the Lions, because he violated his NFL contract by using drugs.
In the next article, we will take a look at the last of the top busts in the NFL.
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