If Lane Kiffin needed the preseason finale to decide who his starting quarterback will be, Daunte Culpepper should be his man. The Raiders first-year coach watched the recently deposed Dolphins starter complete 11 of 19 passes for 108 yards and lead the offense to its only touchdown in Oakland's 19-14 loss to the Seahawks on Thursday night.

Todd Marinovich, the former Los Angeles Raiders quarterback whose career ended in a mire of drug abuse, is facing a possible prison term after a weekend arrest in Orange County. Marinovich, 38, remained jailed Wednesday on no-bail warrants for probation violation pending a Sept. 6 pretrial hearing. Police said he was skateboarding in a prohibited area near the Newport Pier boardwalk shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday and ran away when officers tried to stop him. He was found hiding in a carport about six blocks away.

Raiders coach Lane Kiffin still hasn't decided upon a starting quarterback for his team's regular-season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 9, but at least we now know it won't be Andrew Walter. Kiffin on Monday declared the quarterback battle a "two-man race" between newcomers Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown. Kiffin said McCown will start Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks in the Raiders' exhibition finale, with Culpepper relieving him at some point. "We're still going to evaluate the two of them for the starting job," Kiffin said of Culpepper and McCown.

Rookie running back Michael Bush watched Raiders practice from alongside a chain-link fence, working out his right leg and wondering when he would be deemed healthy enough to join the proceedings. He broke his leg in two places as a Louisville senior a year ago and underwent two surgeries. When the Raiders selected Bush in the fourth round of April's draft, all parties involved expected him ready for training camp. The Sept. 9 season opener is nearing, and it sounds more and more like Bush will remain out indefinitely, whether he stays on the physically unable to perform list or gets moved to the injured reserve list. "Yes, there's a very good chance of that," coach Lane Kiffin said after practice Sunday. "We'll make that final decision next week after this game." "I'm just going out there, busting my tail, showing them what I can do," Bush said. "Just a waiting game, that's all. I have no idea what's going on."

The Raiders were supposed to name an starting quarterback any day, but that could now turn into early next month with no real sense of urgency emitting from Oakland headquarters. The decision process is going so slow, it's very possible the Raiders could finally sign Russell - the quarterback of the future as the first pick of the NFL draft - before picking a quarterback of today, whether it be Daunte Culpepper, Josh McCown or Andrew Walter. "Ideally, it would have been (made) a month ago" Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said after Friday's 20-10 victory against the St. Louis Rams. "I might have an answer for you (Saturday). I may not."

Daunte Culpepper cleanly handled his first snap for a change and did plenty else right, too. Cast off by Miami a month ago, Culpepper is doing his best to win the starting job in Oakland. Culpepper threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Curry and looked sharp in his first preseason start, leading the Raiders to a 20-10 victory over the Rams on Friday night. "I feel like I have a lot to offer a club," Culpepper said. "I feel like I'm a starter, but at the same time I have to do what's best for the team."

Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said JaMarcus Russell's agents, Ethan Lock and Eric Metz, met with Raiders officials Monday in Los Angeles. Kiffin didn't report any groundbreaking progress but said the meeting was a step in the right direction. "That's really the first time they've been together in person (recently), with everybody together at a meeting," Kiffin said. "So I would assume that would be positive." Still, sources familiar with the negotiations said they are likely to extend into the regular season. The Raiders say they've met the initial demands of a six-year contract worth up to $60 million, with $30 million to $32 million in guarantees, and contend Russell's agents upped the amount of guaranteed money they want. Russell's camp says the contract requires more guaranteed money upfront to protect the quarterback from losing out on guaranteed money should he be injured or cut.

Raiders coach Lane Kiffin named Daunte Culpepper his starter for Friday's game against the St. Louis Rams at The Coliseum, followed in order off the bench by Josh McCown and Andrew Walter. This will be Culpepper's first start of the preseason.

The Denver Broncos found a surprising trade partner to unload defensive tackle Gerard Warren ? the rival Oakland Raiders. The Broncos shipped Warren to the Raiders on Monday for an undisclosed 2008 draft pick. Just one year ago, Warren was deemed the Broncos' best defensive linemen as evidenced by the six-year, $36 million contract he signed before injuries to both big toes led to an unproductive 2006 season.

Quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall draft pick from LSU, has missed Raiders training camp. With training camp ending today, Russell's agents and the Raiders are no closer to signing a deal than they were when players reported to Napa on July 27. Talks between both sides have been practically nonexistent for more than a week, which has some team and league insiders thinking the impasse could extend into September. "Nothing," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said when asked for a progress report after practice Thursday. "I have not talked to him in awhile." Neither the Raiders nor Russell's camp will discuss the negotiations. Multiple sources familiar with the negotiations agreed on several primary points. One, Russell wants about $31 million in guaranteed money. Two, the Raiders' offer isn't there yet and, three, there's still a sticking point over what Raiders owner Al Davis called "forfeiture and accountability."