This week’s issue of Sports Illustrated contains a profile of former Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell, the top pick of the 2007 draft and arguably the biggest Round 1 bust in NFL history.

Yet according to Russell, he was dealing with matters the public was unaware of while masking his issues with former Oakland coach Tom Cable.

“I stuck my neck out for him,” Russell says of Cable, who parted with the then Russell-less Raiders following the 2010 season.

The Raiders let Russell go after acquiring QB Jason Campbell in 2010. In three seasons, Russell won just seven of 25 starts, completed 52.1% of his passes and managed just 18 TD passes (or roughly $2 million per).