Gradkowski In At Quarterback For Raiders; Ineffective Russell Benched

November 19, 2009 11:31 a.m. EST

Oakland, CA (AHN) - The Oakland Raiders decided they've seen enough of quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and have relegated him to backup.

It's now Bruce Gradkowski's turn to see if he can step it up and improve the team's performance.

Russell vouched his support for coach Tom Cable Sunday, whether or not he remained a starter, though he has been silent since his benching.

Cable said that Russell's inability to improve his decision-making, game management and accuracy has been a severe detriment to the Raiders success, and is hoping Gradkowski can shore up some of these weaknesses.

A four-year veteran of the league, Gradkowski got his first start as a rookie while with Tampa Bay. In 13 games, he went for 1661 yards, with nine touchdowns over nine interceptions.

He was used sporadically in 2007 and 2008,  failing to impress in either year. He started in six games during those two years, with an average rating of 35.9 for those games.

Russell, though, has been completely ineffective this season.

In nine games, he has passed for just 1064 yards with an awful ratio of two touchdowns to nine interceptions.