JaMarcus Russell 27 pounds
The 2007 No. 1 overall pick, whose comeback try is being chronicled in Bleacher Report videos, says he was 315 pounds when he began working out more than two months ago and is down to 288, with 270 the goal.
"Through the first couple weeks I could barely make it through the workout. … It was crazy," Russell said, in a not-so-crazy comment.
"We go in to do the warm-up and here I am breathing like a fat man. So now I'm breathing pretty good and able to stand up on my own two feet."
At the self-proclaimed halfway point of his latest comeback attempt, the 6-foot-6 Russell said his “endurance is getting better, everything is that much better.”
He and his trainers, led by former quarterback Jeff Garcia at the TEST Academy in San Diego, plan to hold a pro day on or about April 10. Reportedly, one of his targets will be Larry Fitzgerald, who has spent the last few years trying to help bad quarterbacks.
Russell hopes to convince a team to invite him to training camp. He last threw a pass in an NFL game on Jan. 3, 2010, the end of his three-year Raiders' career.
