JaMarcus Russell to work out for the Chicago Bears on Friday
 

Former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell will be among a quartet of free agent quarterbacks working out for the Chicago Bears on Friday, reports Michael C. Wright of ESPN Chicago.

Wright is quick to point out that the Bears are planning to conduct workouts for players at several positions, which teams normally do to prepare their "emergency list" for when injuries occur. Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune reports that Trent Edwards and Jordan Palmer will join Russell for Friday's workout.

Last week, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Russell had slimmed down with the hopes of attracting interest from an NFL team. Russell's weight had ballooned to over 300 pounds, but he dropped 50 pounds and recently weighed in at 265 — the same weight he had at the 2007 scouting combine.

Selected by the Oakland Raiders with the top pick in the 2007 NFL draft, Russell missed training camp and the start of the regular season as he did not sign his six-year deal worth up to $68 million — with over $31 million in guaranteed — until mid-September. In three seasons with the Raiders, Russell completed 52.1 percent of his 680 pass attempts for 4,083 yards with 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Russell was also sacked 70 times and lost 15 of 25 fumbles before the Raiders released him in May of 2010, two months before he was arrested in his Mobile, Ala. home for possession of codeine syrup without a prescription.



Y! SPORTS