Expect Gary Russell to takeover at fullback in addition to his kick return duties. Tom Cable could also use Michael Bush and Darren McFadden together with Run-DMC motioning out of the backfield and lining up out wide as he did often against Dallas on Turkey Day.

Lawton will not receive pay for the games he misses. Not exactly the type of news you like to get during the holidays. Whatever Lawton was using, it certainly didn’t enhance his hands of stone. This season, Luke was dropping pigskin more often than a butcher.

While his absence is not a major concern, it continues the constant rotation at fullback. From Oren O’Neal, to Lawton, to Russell and even Michael Bush on occasion, this position has been a revolving door all year long.

Is it too late to bring Lorenzo Neal back?

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If you listen closely you can her the sound of the door being slammed shut on the Randy Moss trade.

The final connection to the Randy Moss era in the East Bay is gone. Yesterday the Oakland Raiders placed cornerback John Bowie on waivers. Today he cleared waivers allowing the Raiders to place Bowie on IR for the remainder of the season.

Bowie will forever be known as the man the Raiders drafted with the 4^th round pick acquired from the Patriots back in 2007 in exchange for Randy Moss. Bowie has been plagued with injuries and when he has played his performance has been less than impressive.

Already the Moss for Bowie deal is being placed in the discussion for worst trade in NFL history.

There really is no way to get equal value when trading a Hall of Fame talent like Moss. No matter what, getting draft picks in exchange for proven talent is a gamble.

Was Moss worth more than a 4^th round pick? Yes, but his attitude and overall performance in Silver and Black weren’t worthy of a player on the practice squad in Detroit. According to reports, the Pats were the only team willing to go as high as a fourth round pick. Therefore, they were the highest bidders.

Bowie is forever linked to Moss.

That ever lit fire of Raider Hatred was just given a heavy dose of lighter fluid with the Bowie roster move. Never mind that Zack Miller, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Mario Henderson, Michael Bush, Oren O’Neal and Jonathan Holland – all starters or contributors now – were part of that ’07 draft class. John Bowie, he of Cincinnati with his 4.36 40-yard dash, is the name that will be the most infamous member of the ’07 draft class unless one JaMarcus Russell continues down his path to oblivion.

Any how, Pats fans enjoy Moss now before he goes sour on you. Judging by how things are going these days, I’m guessing it is only a matter of time until he’s jogging routes and whiffing on blocks.

No doubt it will be hard to discuss the worst trades in NFL history without mentioning this one but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out a few others that make this deal seem like a steal.

Flash back just over a decade ago and you’ll find the Minnesota Vikings gifted the Dallas Cowboys their 90’s dynasty by trading a boat load of draft picks in exchange for Herschel Walker. Not so long ago, the New Orleans Saints made that infamous move of trading away their entire draft just to select Ricky Williams. Most recently, the Dallas Cowboys paid it forward by trading a couple high picks for Roy Williams.

Of course, you could go do a little research and see what the Vikings got in return for Moss when they traded with the Raiders to begin this whole carousel. I don’t think Troy Williamson, Napoleon Harris and Adrian Ward did too much in Minnesota. Since Moss didn’t guide the Raiders to a perfect regular season, you won’t hear any mention of the original Moss trade being a bad deal for the Vikings.

The Moss trade is in the discussion, but it is only an appetizer for the seven course meal of some truly horrendous moves.

Al Davis has already gone on the record saying that Randy Moss was “great for the Raiders”. Therefore he must consider the John Bowie era a landmark moment in modern Raider history. Davis has seen his team win just 25 games since that last Super Bowl appearance six years ago. Hence, it is easy to understand why he’d consider Moss a “great” acquisition.

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Neal's California homecoming was never meant to be

As evidence by the 48% of JBB readers who voted Neal as the best acquisition of the off-season, the four time Pro Bowler was already a fan favorite. Yours truly even sung his praises not so long ago in hopes that his veteran leadership would be instrumental in righting the Raider ship adrift at sea for the last six years.

The Raiders are rolling the dice on Oren O’Neal to be healthy enough to carry the load as the first team fullback after sustaining a severe knee injury last season. Lorenzo Neal’s roster spot was quickly filled as the Raiders re-signed safety Rashad Baker one day after the former Raider was released by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Without reading too much into the roster moves made today, one can conclude that Neal’s 38-year old body just wasn’t up for the rigors of the NFL any longer. The reintroduction of Baker into the secondary also would suggest that rookie Michael Mitchell is further away from returning from his hamstring injury than anticipated.

To compound the rising frustration in Raiderland, the San Francisco 49ers handed the Silver and Black an old school thrashing in the morning session as the two teams continued their joint practices. Chronicle beat writer David White called it, “quite possibly the worst practice ever.”

While the afternoon session was reported to have been an improvement, there are still glaring weaknesses in defending the run.

With the two-a-day sessions coming to a close and a date with the 49ers on Saturday looming, Tom Cable is beginning to adjust his roster to compensate for injuries. More cuts will be made and as this off-season has gone thus far, you can be sure to expect more of the unexpected.

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