Pal Joey Should Be Another Raider Reclamation Project

Once upon a time, the Oakland Raiders were the NFL's version of rehab. Their franchise was the one where various ne'er do wells, miscreants, and aging players would wind up, often times reinvigorating their careers and sometimes even reinventing themselves. It was a reputation that the team embraced. And they used it to win -- usually at percentages that touched .700, along with three Super Bowl championships.

In 1980, the Raiders rode the tired, popgun arm of Jim Plunkett to a world championship. Plunkett was a two-time loser, run out of town in New England and San Francisco. Before and after Plunkett, countless players wore the silver and black after their time was supposedly done -- and were productive, key players to all the winning.

More recently, Jeff George was a Raiders reclamation project. So was Jeff Hostetler. So was Jerry Rice. And Warren Sapp.

Today, there's another quarterback available who, if this perhaps was a different time, would qualify as a possible Raiders Rehab guy.


Plunkett was hardly the most talented QB the Raiders ever had, but he won two Super Bowls (XV and XVIII)


Ever since Pal Joey Harrington fled the Lions, I've felt that he would look good in silver and black. He neatly fills the bill as the reclamation project in waiting. And the Raiders need a quarterback, if only to be the transitional guy until their #1 pick -- almost certain to be a QB -- is ready for prime time. Harrington was released last week by the Dolphins.

The idea of Harrington wearing the eye-patched pirate insignia on his helmet may seem folly to some, who feel he lacks the toughness to be a Raider. But how tough do you have to be to play for a team that finished flat bottom in the NFL last season?

Harrington as a Raider makes sense. Where else can he go? Chicago, with the wobbly Rex Grossman as the starter? Buffalo? Washington? Maybe. But put Joey Harrington in Oakland, and I think you might be surprised at the results, albeit short term.



When Alex Karras was released by the Lions late in camp in 1971, he wrote in his book, Even Big Guys Cry, the Raiders had contacted him about resuming his career. But Karras opted for the potential of the bright lights of Hollywood instead of the rigors of more football. So even back then Al Davis's franchise was making the reclamation project part of its trademark.

If I was Harrington's agent, I'd give the Raiders a call. He's not a first round pick anymore. He wouldn't be playing on a Super Bowl contender. He could reinvent himself rather quietly -- a lot quieter than those before him have had to do.

It's not "Just Win, Baby!" anymore in Oakland. It's "Just Keep Us Respectable Until Our New Hotshot QB Is Ready."

Sounds like a match made in hell? That's exactly the kind that the Raiders used to thrive on.