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In a move that should surprise nobody, the Raiders released former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell on Thursday, ending a three-year tenure marked by his high salary and unproductive play on the field.

Senior executive John Herrera told the Associated Press about the move and said that "we wish him well."

The decision came less than two weeks after Oakland acquired Jason Campbell from Washington to take over at quarterback and signifies that owner Al Davis finally lost patience with the immensely talented but unproductive player he drafted first overall in 2007 against the wishes of former coach Lane Kiffin.

As AP sports writer Josh Dubow suggests, Russell will now likely be considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history, joining Ryan Leaf, Ki-Jana Carter, Akili Smith and others on that list.

He will have been paid more than $39 million by the Raiders, while producing only seven wins as a starter. The Raiders paid Russell more than $36 million through last season.

They still owe him $3 million more but saved $6.45 million by not having him on the roster in 2010.

Russell won only seven of his 25 starts as the Raiders extended an NFL-worst streak to seven straight seasons with at least 11 losses. He completed just 52.1 percent of his passes in his career with 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 15 lost fumbles and a passer rating of 65.2.

That means Russell has been paid more than $5 million per win, more than $2 million per touchdown pass and more than $100,000 per completion.

While Russell's numbers are superior to Leaf's, he was paid considerably more money to do it and was picked first instead of second. Leaf's rookie contract guaranteed him only $11.25 million.

Now that the Raiders have cut ties with Russell, the question becomes whether another team will give Russell a chance to fulfill his potential. According to Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, someone will.

Per Florio, "Every coach thinks that he's the coach who'll get through to a player who, for whatever reason, has been a failure."

Florio went on remind readers that every first-round bust who washes out with his first NFL team gets another chance, somewhere. Leaf and Smith certainly did.

The problem for a coach looking to revive Russell's career, however, might have more to do with Russell's desire -- or more specifically, his lack of desire -- than ability (or lack thereof).