Jason Campbell should have listened to Confucius.
The ancient Chinese philosopher once said, “Study the past if you would divine the future.” Had the fifth-year pro looked into the recent history of the Oakland Raiders, he most likely would not have signed a two-year deal and wound up in a quarterback controversy with Bruce Gradkowski.
Over the last half of the decade, Oakland has been the place where all castoffs are welcome. Since Rich Gannon played his last game in Week 4 of 2004, no quarterback has been able to succeed.
Kerry Collins became the first of the failed experiments when he angrily left New York after the Giants drafted Eli Manning in ’04. Collins filled in once Gannon went down, but during his two years in Oakland, he went 7-21, got benched for two games in 2005 and the Raiders cut him after two disappointing seasons. His numbers actually aligned closely with his career averages, but his time with Oakland showed that Collins can’t do much with a bad team other than rack up yards and throw interceptions.
While the Collins era was only mildly disappointing, Aaron Brooks stepped in next and really got the ball rolling for the failing quarterback trend. During his time in New Orleans, Brooks performed well, making plays with his arm and legs, and he led the Saints to their first playoff victory in franchise history. However, he struggled his last few seasons with the Saints to the point of getting benched in favor of Todd Bouman to close the 2005 season.
Alas, the Raiders never picked up on Brooks’ regression. He played in only eight games for Oakland in 2006 and passed for 1,105 yards with three touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Raiders went 2-14 that season and cut Brooks, who subsequently retired.
Next in line came the combo of Josh McCown and Daunte Culpepper in 2007. McCown came to the Raiders after never living up to his potential with the Cardinals and a year with the Lions, while Culpepper tried to revive his career after a failed attempt with the Dolphins. McCown opened the season as the starter, but the two went back and forth due to injury. Unfortunately, neither could muster up much magic, and the Raiders endured a 4-12 year.
In 2008 and 2009, the Raiders didn’t bring in any big name free agents, but instead went primarily with first overall pick JaMarcus Russell, whose hype turned out to be much bigger than his gut. Again, the Raiders went through losing seasons, going 5-11 both years.
Which brings us to this season, when the Raiders needed to find a new quarterback after Russell ended up in legal trouble. The Redskins acquired Donovan McNabb from the Eagles, which meant that the underperforming Campbell would either be the backup or shipped out of town. On draft day, the Raiders opened up their arms and wallets and made Campbell the franchise quarterback.
And surprise, surprise, Campbell is already struggling in Oakland. He already has been benched in favor of Gradkowski for Week 3, and who knows if he’ll ever start another game for the Raiders?
Quarterbacks seem to think they can return to glory in Oakland, yet continue to falter. How did Campbell not see this coming? At the very least, he shouldn’t have signed an extension through 2011.
Or maybe Campbell just doesn’t care about success and wanted the money. But he’s still young, and a few bad seasons in Oakland could really derail his career.
The smarter financial move would have been to take a smaller deal somewhere he has a better shot at winning, and then hope to sign a more lucrative contract after that. Yet by falling into the Raiders’ trap, Campbell will have to endure a painfully long season.
