The LaMont Jordan Saga continues to drag on in Oakland, although not for much longer. Finally. In May, the Raiders told the running back that his career with the team was over, and held him out of the final minicamp practice. This led most people to conclude that Oakland would either trade or release Jordan, but most people would've been mistaken. Almost two months later, Jordan is still on the roster, and again, the Raiders have advised him not to report to training camp even though he has two years remaining on his current deal. Well, enough is enough, apparently.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Nancy Gay reports that, according to the current collective bargaining agreement, an NFL player under contract "must be allowed to report and participate in all offseason and training camp meetings and workouts."
And that's exactly what Jordan plans to do.
"We're going to give them until (today) so hopefully we'll have a resolution between now and then. If not, then we'll have to force their hand and he'll report on Friday and practice," said [Jordan's agent, Alvin] Keels, reiterating that the Raiders cannot lock out Jordan as long as he remains on their roster.Jordan became expendable when the Raiders re-signed Justin Fargas this spring and then drafted Darrren McFadden. The club might find it hard to trade Jordan because his contract is backloaded, which means he'll likely be cut. And then the question becomes: where does he go?
The market is currently flooded with once-solid feature backs, and barring a run on training camp injuries, Jordan, along with Travis Henry, Shaun Alexander, Najah Davenport et al could be out of work for a while. Which, for Jordan, may be a slightly better fate than playing in Oakland.
