Although reports of Russell's performance at Friday's workout were altogether positive, it's unlikely that the Bears will be jumping at the opportunity to sign him, Trent Edwards or Jordan Palmer, both of whom worked out in the same session as Russell.
While JaMarcus Russell showed up at an acceptable weight and threw the ball with exceptional arm strength, according to ESPN, the team is likely to stick with it's current stock of quarterbacks, Jay Cutler, Josh McCown and Matt Blanchard.
While it's a solid start for Russell, his true test will come later in the offseason. It's likely that a quarterback will be injured in training camp or preseason action, and that may leave a team looking for a backup quarterback. That's when teams will work out Russell with a realistic interest in signing him. He'll likely have some competition from other quarterbacks looking for work such as the aforementioned Trent Edwards, Vince Young, and at some point, Mark Sanchez who is still hanging on with the Jets.
Of all the quarterbacks searching for a job, Russell may be the most enticing, however. He seems, outwardly at least, to be committed to playing football in the NFL, and his offseason weight loss has taken effort. Now, if he can show that he "gets" the football side of the equation, it seems likely he'll be on an NFL roster at some point. For now, he just has to keep plugging away and impressing teams with his new found work ethic.
