Jordan’s days with Oakland may be cut short

Oakland Raiders running back LaMont Jordan began the season as one of the NFL’s hottest running backs. Now, his team may be turning cold on him.The 28-year-old halfback ran for over 400 yards and pair of touchdowns in his first four games with Oakland this season. Since Week 4, however, when the 230-pounder re-aggravated a longtime back injury, Jordan has carried the ball 41 times for just 83 yards in three outings, an atrocious 2.0 yards per attempt.

Now, things just continue to get worse.

This week, head coach Lane Kiffin told reporters he’d like to see less of Jordan and more of 27-year-old backup Justin Fargas, who rushed for 179 yards in relief of Jordan in Week 4 at Miami and last week led the team with 61 yards on the ground. Whether Jordan feels healthy or not, Kiffin has made it clear he likes what he sees in Fargas.

“That was the plan coming in: we were going to play Justin more,” Kiffin told the Sacramento Bee earlier this week. “We like what Justin brings, and he hadn’t had very many opportunities of late. We wanted to give him a shot.”

Last week at Tennessee, Fargas rushed just as many times as Jordan, but registered 45 more yards. This week, in a home contest with the 3-5 Texans, don’t be surprised if Fargas begins and ends the game as the team’s starter.

Even worse for Jordan, it’s not just Fargas he has to worry about.

Ex-Indianapolis Colts running back Dominic Rhodes returned from a four-game suspension a month ago and will certainly become an increasing factor in the backfield. The 28-year-old has rushed for just 21 yards on nine carries this season, but you’d better expect the Raiders to find a way to use a player they invested two years and $7.5 million in.

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