In a time of year normally reserved for No. 5 seeds and spring-training news, there was a spate of Raiders coverage over the past couple days, and most of it had to do with their quarterbacks.

First, Bruce Gradkowski signed his restricted free-agent tender, agreeing to the $1.759 million that offer entailed and showing up for the first day off offseason workouts. Though it no doubt made Raider Nation happy to see their pet QB in the fold, it was not a surprise. Gradkowski had little chance of getting a better offer, especially since it would have cost another suitor a second-round draft choice, and he doesn’t seem like the type of athlete who would want to miss even a day of work.

Next up in the news cycle was JaMarcus Russell, who showed up just a day after Gradkowski, supposedly because he was finalizing a real estate deal in Alabama.

Russell’s appearance was encouraging in more ways than one. Ace reporter Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times talked to players who said the big QB looked like he’s in better shape than a year ago.

Staff oracle Willie Brown confirmed as much to Comcast Sports: “You’ll be surprised when you see him. It’s quite a bit of weight that he’s lost. … I don’t want to pin it down and say how much he lost, but it will be a significant difference when you see him compared with last year. The most important thing is he’s getting in shape. Not only losing weight but getting in shape.”

That could be Russell’s first step toward salvaging his career.

But even as the Alameda wind still whistled with the sound of JaMarcus’ bullet passes, a former Raiders quarterback was taking another shot at the former No. 1 overall draft choice.

Jeff Garcia, who spent last summer developing zero rapport with Russell in Napa, spoke to Xtra Sports 1360 AM in San Diego and had stern advice for the guy who was supposed to be his protégé.

“As much as I was willing and open to helping the young guy, he’s gotta want to be open and willing to be helped himself, and he’s gotta want to get after it himself, as far as his own goals, his own motivation,” Garcia said. “You can’t necessarily push those buttons with certain people. And so, you know, I hope he figures it out, I hope he turns it around, because if he doesn’t soon he may find himself out of this league, just by the way this league operates. They can’t wait around forever for the guy to turn the investment into a positive situation.”

You can be sure that Garcia has moved into the Top 10 on Al Davis’ enemies list, which probably numbers into the thousands by now.

And what, no news from Charlie Frye? Come on, Charlie, you’ve got to get a piece of the action here.

This trade is both sensible and curious.

It’s sensible because Wimbley would seem to be a valuable pickup at a position where the Raiders need some help. He had 11 sacks as a rookie out of Florida State in 2006, and that might have been part of the problem in Cleveland, as he was unable to reach that plateau over the past three seasons.

But Wimbley’s sack total never dipped below four in a given season. Last year he had 6 1/2. In Cleveland, that may have been viewed as a disappointment. In Oakland, that’s the second coming of Derrick Thomas.

Wimbley is only 26, and seems worth the third-rounder.

The trade is curious because, while the Raiders desperately need a linebacker or two, they don’t need this type of linebacker. What they are lacking is a big, run-stuffing tackle machine, a piece they have lacked for years. Kirk Morrison has been their leading tackler for several seasons, but he does it with quickness more than strength and isn’t good at shedding blockers. That’s why the Raiders gave Morrison, a restricted free agent, only a third-round tender.

Wimbley is not a run-stuffer. He is, in fact, a lot like Trevor Scott, the defensive end turned outside backer who led the Raiders in sacks last year with seven. So while Wimbley has some talent, it’s hard to see what he brings to John Marshall’s defense that it didn’t already have.

Unless the Raiders plan to move Scott back to defensive end, install Wimbley at weakside linebacker and blitz even more in 2010. In which case, he may become so popular in Oakland that they change the name of the Coliseum to Wimbley Stadium.

Adam Schefter, quoting his ESPN colleague John Clayton, tweeted today that “Next stop for Terrel (sic) Owens could be the black hole and the Oakland Raiders!”

Everyone has always figured T.O. was a natural for the Raiders, what with all the pouting and posturing and fighting with teammates. Plus, the wide receiver is getting old now. We all know Oakland has is the preferred destination for aging malcontents.

While we try to sort fact from rumor – no one has reported that Owens and the Raiders have scheduled a meeting – let’s ponder whether this marriage could work. Certainly, the Raiders need help at wide receiver, where the entire position group caught 99 passes last year, or one fewer than T.O. had in 2002. And though he is 36, Owens seems to be in great shape and still productive.

So from a strictly hypothetical vantage point, yes, T.O. could contribute. From here on the ground… not so much.

I’m not naïve enough to think an NFL team should never sign a problem player. Sometimes the talent outweighs the headache. I just don’t think this is the right team to take such a gamble. There isn’t enough veteran leadership here to reign in a wild hoss like Owens.

Just look at the Randy Moss experience. He was a disaster in Oakland, injured and unhappy and unproductive, and an off-field distraction as well. After he left for New England, Moss reverted back to superstardom and became a scoring threat on virtually every play. The Patriots had a clear chain of command and guys like Tom Brady and Rodney Harrison who would have been in Moss’ face the first time he dogged a route (which he may have started to do late last year). It was a good fit for Moss.

That environment does not exist in Oakland. Richard Seymour, one of those standup Patriots, is here now. But Greg Ellis, another locker-room leader, was released this week. Who else would stand up to Owens the first time he threw JaMarcus Russell or Bruce Gradkowski under the bus? Especially when owner Al Davis has always overprotected his temperamental stars.

Hey, it would be entertaining, but the Raiders should think long and hard before taking a run at Owens. Then again, he and Davis’ team do have one thing in common. They both hate Jeff Garcia.

This started with a column by Gary Peterson of the Contra Costa Times. Peterson, who writes with an edgy humor, had a paragraph that sounded like this:

“Or maybe Russell, rumored to have spent part of the offseason at a clinic being treated for lethargy addiction, shows up for minicamp weighing 230 sculpted pounds and ready to work twice as hard as anyone else in the building. Sorry, didn’t mean to make you blow coffee out your nose first thing in the morning — just trying to cover all bases.”

It was a joke. Get it? Peterson could have written that Russell weighed 600 pounds or had a Pizza Hut installed in his apartment in Mobile, and it would have been no more or less absurd.

But that night, a local Bay Area newscaster went on the air and reported, with a straight face, that Russell was being treated for a malady called lethargy addiction. The genie was out of the bottle.

Today, I Googled “JaMarcus Russell” and “lethargy addiction.” As I started to type this blog entry, it was at 111 entries. By the time I finished (and I type pretty fast) we were up to 113.

Some of them, like a column by the Chronicle’s Scott Ostler and another by ESPN’s Tim Keown, were wry observations on the twisted logic of the media and the sad state of Russell’s reputation. But others had swallowed the bait and were rapidly swimming toward the bottom of the pond.

Slums.boxden.com stated gravely that “Lethargy addiction = Narcotics Addiction.”

A commenter on operationsports.com chimed in to say: “Some of you may take this as a negative, and rightfully so. But I personaly see it as another step in the right direction. Thats two this offseason. He has been dealing with this problem since at least his first offseason, and now he has taken a step forward and got some help.”

A poster on bigfooty.com had this theory: “The Raiders are slowly leaking this information out to the public, having sat on it for a good 6 months — meaning the Raiders aren’t happy with his progress or lack thereof, having cause to cut him if and when the time comes, and they’ll make it so that it is hard for him to sign with other teams.”

Yep, it’s out of control. How long can it be before the Raiders or Russell’s agents are forced to issue a denial or explanation? Gary Peterson, who started it all with a sarcastic but otherwise-innocent comment, might even be getting a little nervous over the brouhaha.

It’s just hard to imagine this stuff happening anywhere but Oakland.

On offense, the team released halfback Justin Fargas on Saturday, saying he had failed a physical (coincidentally, just a few days before he was due to earn a roster bonus, reportedly of $1.7 million).

During his seven years in Oakland, Fargas proved himself to be as tough a runner as you’ll find. He got hurt. He was fairly worthless as a receiver. But he never backed down from a hit, which is why he kept rising to the top of the depth chart even as the Raiders tried to phase him out over the past couple years.

On a personal note, I haven’t seen many athletes reinvent themselves as Fargas did in 2006. He had shown some promise his first three years, but seemed to carry himself with an outward pride that he hadn’t quite earned. In ’06, he changed his jersey number from 20 to 25, and he showed up with his jaw set in a look of quiet determination. That’s the year he became a leader. The next season, Fargas broke 1,000 yards under Lane Kiffin.

On defense, there is a good chance the Raiders will be looking for a middle linebacker to replace Kirk Morrison. They tendered the restricted free agent at the third-round level, meaning a rival team would have to give the Raiders only a third-round draft choice as compensation for signing him. Even if that doesn’t happen, the low-market tender would seem to signal that Morrison isn’t a big part of the team’s plans.

Captain Kirk has never been the Raiders’ best defender, but he certainly has been its face. The Oakland native and life-long Raiders fan led the team in tackles in four of the past five seasons. Yes, he’s never been an overpowering run-stuffer, something the Raiders need desperately. But like Fargas, Morrison is a guy who always valued his team above his own body.

I’m not saying either move was a big mistake. The Raiders have been talking about Darren McFadden and Michael Bush as potential stars for two years; it’s time to see if they have that potential, and keeping Fargas around may have held them back. Morrison, meanwhile, is a solid but unspectacular linebacker whose presence hasn’t made the Raiders a good defense against the run. Ultimately, both are expendable.

Still, the best NFL teams have more than talent. They have heart, and the Raiders will lose a little bit of theirs if they say goodbye to both Fargas and Morrison.

But Cable gave another answer at Indianapolis that was just as eye-opening.

The question had to do with the Raiders’ reputation for focusing on physical traits and drafting the guys who stand out for their speed, size and strength. Here is Cable’s response:

“I don’t know. How about the best player? Let’s talk that way. We need to get better in some areas, so you’ve gotta look at this thing and find who you think the best players are, rather than they jump the highest or run the fastest. It shouldn’t make a damn difference. He has to be able to play football good enough for you to become a championship team. At the end of the day, that’s what really counts. A lot of guys who run fast can’t play dead. For me, get the best players targeted and go back and sit down as a group, collectively put that together, and start your process.”

Uh-oh.

Cable just survived the coldest of winters, coming to work every day despite persistent rumors of his termination. Everyone had him fired, but there he was at the combine, giving a state-of-the-Raiders address. And now Cable has jeopardized all of it by saying the words that Al Davis least likes to hear this time of year.

I mean, look at 2005, when Davis drafted cornerback Fabian Washington in the middle of the first round after Washington had run a blistering 40 time at Indy. Look at 2007, when he made JaMarcus Russell the No. 1 pick in the draft based on the quarterback’s size and arm strength. Look at 2009, when the Raiders sprang for wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey at least 12 spots earlier than most teams had him projected.

This is what Al Davis does. CPAs roll up their sleeves, order pizza and fill out tax returns 20 hours a day in April. Al Davis drafts really, really fast football players in April. And if they weren’t even first-team all-conference picks in college? Who cares? The Raiders will make them great.

And now Cable has challenged the entire paradigm.

One of two things is true. Either Cable is so confident in, or so clueless about, his job status that he feels he can say anything and survive in Oakland. Or this guy really can’t thrive unless he is on the hot seat – as if Randy Hanson isn’t warming it up enough for him already.

If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how Cable justifies the pick when the Raiders make Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford the No. 8 pick in the draft, based upon his fleet 40 time of 4.28 seconds.

He took the podium in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine, his first extended interview since the day after the Raiders’ final game of 2009. I wasn’t there, but our renowned 49ers reporter, Matt Maiocco, was. Matt spent most of the day flying back to California, but was kind enough to phone and inform me of Cable’s address.
The big news from Indy: Cable called the QB position an “open competition.”

“As we said the last time we met as a football team, the next step for us is going to be the bigges,” Cable said. “It’s the hardest. We’re competitive now. But you got to win more and win the games you’re supposed to win.

“And I think competition helps you do those kinds of things. I’m all for having guys going at it and battling for the job.”

Asked which quarterbacks would be competing, the coach said: “All those guys, so long as we can get them re-signed, and see if we add anybody to the mix.”

All those guys are the embattled and dearly paid JaMarcus Russell, crowd favorite Bruce Gradkowski and journeyman Charlie Frye. Gradkowski and Frye are both restricted free agents at this point.
Cable’s Q&A at the combine may finally put to rest rumors of his professional demise in Oakland. Most analysts expected Davis to fire him right after the season, and reports had Cable standing on thin ice for weeks, even as he scouted talent at the Senior Bowl and the Raiders began forming a game plan for free agency and the draft.
Cable said he never heard anything from Davis to make him believe his job was in jeopardy.

“That’s the one misnomer,” he said. “There was a lot of speculation. Every day I went to work and got ready for the routine and the self-scout and all the things you’d normally do. So for me, sitting back, I wondered what all the fuss was about. I just went to work every day.”

Thanks again to Matt Maiocco for including the Raiders in his rock-solid combine reporting. You can read his take on Cable in Monday’s Press Democrat.

You can see what league honchos were thinking when they created this designation in the early days of free agency. Each NFL team would be able to protect one player from predatory competitors. This player was seen as crucial to the team’s fortunes, so it made sense to call him the “franchise player,” just as a guy like Peyton Manning or Brett Favre is referred to as a “franchise quarterback.”

Well, here are the six men currently designated as franchise players in the NFL: Raiders DE Richard Seymour, 49ers DT Aubrayo Franklin, Green Bay DT Ryan Pickett, New England DT Vince Wilfork, Pittsburgh K Jeff Reed and Seattle K Olindo Mare.

Of the six, Seymour and Wilfork (the player some suspect was Al Davis’ real target this summer) are legitimately great players, or at least have been in their careers.

Now picture the Packers’ board of directors calling an emergency meeting and crying out: “The Browns just signed Pickett! Our franchise is in trouble.”

Imagine Steelers fans waking up one morning in March to declare, “Jeff Reed is gone! The franchise!”

I have no problem with the current system. Players should be compared to others at their position, and it may make sense for a specific team to protect its punter or its right guard.

But please, people, can we come up with a less melodramatic designation?

We feel their pain, but there are also plenty of three-year free agents out there, guys who would have been restricted regardless of the labor situation.

The Raiders have six of those players: QB Bruce Gradkowski, LS Jon Condo, FS Hiram Eugene, C Chris Morris, FB Luke Lawton and RB Gary Russell.

The Raiders would have to offer each of them a minimum of $1.1 million to keep them in 2010. You could make a case for any of them being worth it, though Lawton will begin the season with a steroids suspension and Russell, while he played fairly well in Oakland as a fullback, seems interchangeable with a lot of guys around the league.

Of the rest, Gradkowski emerged as a locker-room favorite after leading the Raiders to a pair of wins in place of JaMarcus Russell; Condo, an excellent special-teamer, was added to the Pro Bowl roster as the long snapper; and Eugene and Morris both have started at times, though both were beaten out this past season.

The big question is how much the Raiders will tender Gradkowski, who could compete to be their starting quarterback this season. The $1.1 million offer gets them right of first refusal, nothing more. If they tender him for $1.684 million, they will receive a second-round draft choice should another team poach him; for $2.396 million they increase the compensation to a first-round pick, and for a little more than $3 million, it becomes first- and third-round picks.

Gradkowski proved his worth by turning the Raiders’ offense from moribund to watchable last year. I think he will command more than $1.1 million. But how much more?

My gut feeling is that Oakland can keep him with the $1.684 million tender. Gradkowski could probably make more on the open market, but I’m not sure a team would be willing to give up a second-rounder for him.

What do you think?

In December of 2008, assistant offensive line coach James Cregg abruptly bolted the Raiders to join Lane Kiffin’s staff at the University of Tennessee, and Cable wasn’t a bit amused.

“I’m pissed,” the Raiders head coach told reporters after learning of Cregg’s defection. “That’s the best way to put it. Quite frankly, that’s the only way to put it.”

Cable went on to explain that he felt it was disloyal for Cregg to abandon the Raiders in the midst of a season, and inappropriate for Kiffin to make overtures at that time.

Now another assistant has flown the coop: Clancy Pendergast, hired just two weeks ago to some vague and unstated defensive position. Pendergast was Arizona’s defensive coordinator when the Cardinals reached the Super Bowl in 2008, but had been fired there and in Kansas City. Cal hired Pendergast Friday as its defensive coordinator.

As much fun as it would be to see Cable and Tedford engage in a war or words — The Debate-y on I-880? — this case is different for a few reasons.

One, Cregg directly helped Cable with his pet project, the offensive line, which must have made the perceived disloyalty that much more galling.

Two, Pendergast barely had time to discern the scent of Al Davis’ cologne in the hallways on Harbor Bay Parkway, let alone cement relationships with staff and players; his departure may hardly be noticed.

Three, there was a little history already between Kiffin and the Raiders when Cregg left. Or do I have to break out the overhead projector?

Four, and most important, though the NFL has become a year-round business, leaving a team in February is a lot different that putting the pedal to the metal a week before the Houston Texans come to town for a regular-season game.

Too bad. The Raiders have been sort of quiet lately, and a coaching rivalry might have spiced things up a little.