With the pre-season in full force (for what it's worth, the Silver and Black are 1-1), #1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell is still at home, hanging with his homies. As of right here, right now, JaMarcus hasn't put his name to paper.

So, what up?

The issue seems to be over guaranteed money, meaning money that the Raiders have to shell over no matter what happens. On the one hand, giving money to some dude who has yet to throw a ball professionally is a risky deal and Davis is putting his stroller down. On the other hand, forking over guaranteed money is what you do when you have the #1 draft pick.

How close are they? Well, one report says that it's almost all done and all that needs to be hammered out is just a detail here, a detail there. But others are saying err, maybe not. In yesterday's Monday Morning Quarterback, SI's football guru Peter King took time away from detailing his coffee experiences to say that JaMarcus is pretty much telling the Raiders that they ain't ready for his jelly. According to King (and speculated on by Tim Kawakami), Russell has taken a look at the Raiders offensive offensive line, the screwy front office situation, the puppy of a coach, and the just general stink emanating from the franchise and has decided that he wants no part of it. So, either Russell is making sure that if he's going to play, he'll be paid; he's forcing a trade; or wants to remain free and easy so he can re-enter the draft again next year.

While it's easy to call JaMarcus yet another in a long line of greedy SOB QBs, we should point out that if Russell's being hardcore in his contract negotiations and might not want to play for the Raiders, maybe the Raiders should have checked out all this stuff, you know, before they drafted him.