The Omaha Nighthawks, an expansion United Football League franchise, no longer lists former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell on their roster. The Nighthawks are actively trying to court the former top overall pick of the NFL draft as well as players like Justin Fargas, Jeff Garcia, Fred Smoot, Charles Grant and several other currently unemployed NFL players. he players belong to a protected list where the franchise owns their UFL rights. Of course, the player has to agree to actually sign and report for work. And many of the players are inclined to wait and see what their NFL job prospects are going to be. A source close to Russell has told us that he has no intentions of playing in the UFL. Russell, whose tenure with the Raiders was wildly unsuccessful, is also facing a July 20 court date in Mobile, Ala., after being recently arrested for illegal possession of codeine syrup. "With JaMarcus, I know he is of interest to us, but it's kind of been an up-and-down thing," Nighthawks football operations executive Ken Stills told the National Football Post in a telephone interview. "Our thoughts on him are this is a league of opportunity. Everybody makes mistakes. To not give this young man another chance would be a mistake. We are having conversations and we hope he embraces the opportunity. "We are drafting guys with the idea that, if they want to get back into football and the NFL doesn't take them back, we have their rights. We put guys on the draft list because we want to build a veteran team that knows how to win. It's a lot easier to win with those kinds of guys." The Nighthawks also have former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Shawn Andrews listed on their roster as well as former Raiders wide receiver Ronald Curry, former Titans safety Anthony Dorsett, Fargas, former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Robert Ferguson, former Denver Broncos first-round offensive tackle George Foster, Grant, former Nebraska, Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers running back Ahman Green, an Omaha native, former Arizona Cardinals defensive end Chike Okeafor, veteran NFL quarterbacks Patrick Ramsey and Brian St. Pierre, former Washington Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot and former Pro Bowl special-teams ace Gary Stills. More
