Gradkowski Out, Campbell In For Raiders This Sunday

Added on Oct 14, 2010 by Jason Kearney in

NFL

The Oakland Raiders will start Jason Campbell at quarterback against the San Francisco 49ers this weekend as Bruce Gradkowski is still on the mend after injuring his shoulder early in Sunday’s victory over San Diego. Gradkowski hasn’t practiced this week and Campbell has taken all of the snaps with the first team offense. While the results of a MRI test on Gradkowski’s shoulder won’t be known until later today he says it’s still ‘pretty sore’.

Of course since all NFL coaches think the identity of their starting quarterback–even if everyone already knows who it is–is as important to keep secret as the beach landing locations during the Normandy Invasion, Raiders’ coach Tom Cable won’t come out and say Campbell will start though he does say he has ‘a pretty good idea’:

“Obviously, he didn’t practice (Wednesday) and he’s pretty sore, so we’ll see what kind of progress we make in the next 24 hours.”

In other words, if a genie appears and magically heals Gradkowski’s shoulder Cable will be forced to reconsider. Campbell won’t tip his hand either:

“You always prepare like you’re the starter. Even over the last couple of weeks, because it’s a physical game that we play, you always have to be ready. Whether you’re the starter or the backup, you always have to have that same type of mindset.”

Campbell had a solid game in relief of Gradkowski last weekend against San Diego. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 159 yards and one touchdown leading a comeback to a 35-27 victory. At the very least, he’s hoping that the Raiders’ fans will be a little less anxious to boo him:

“Maybe when I start throwing the ball away they won’t boo me. It’s all part of the game. You live with it. If you play this position you have to be ready, you had better have tough ears, and you had better have a mindset that can stay on track.”

Campbell hasn’t completed even a half a season in Oakland and already it’s been a crazy ride–he’s gone from being the team’s ‘quarterback of the future’ to a disappointment of JaMarcus-ian proportions to the hero of the game against the hated Chargers last week. That’s one thing about playing football for the Raiders–at the very least it’s a character building experience.