The move both put Russell on notice and protected the Raiders in the event of injury to the former No. 1 overall pick.

Garcia, 39, immediately gives the Raiders the best backup quarterback in the division and allows him to return to the Bay Area, where he grew up in Gilroy and played in community college and San Jose State.

The Raiders, as has been their offseason policy, did not make Garcia available to the local media, although he did speak with NBC Bay Area and with Sirius Satellite Radio.

"It was one of those things where I was just excited to get back to the Bay and be closer to family, friends, all those comfort zones and being with the team I grew up watching," Garcia said. "Seeing the great players that came through Oakland (I) wanted to be part of that history and hopefully make a difference in some way."

Garcia neglected to mention that history has been tarnished somewhat by six years of double-digit losses. He conceded there weren't a lot of options before him, and decided to sign with Oakland rather than wait for a situation with a less stable quarterback situation.

The Raiders made it clear Garcia is not coming in to compete for the starting job. That belongs to Russell by virtue of his status as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, the size of his paycheck and his importance to the future of the franchise.

Garcia, will, however, look to push Russell in meeting rooms, film rooms and the weight room. Garcia is the anti-Russell in the sense that he fought his way through community college, San Jose State and the Canadian Football League and has had stops and starts in San Francisco, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay.

Russell, meanwhile, has been the big man on campus in high school in Mobile, Ala., as well as LSU and with the Raiders.

Cable delicately challenged Russell's work habits when talking about what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the NFL at the league owners' meetings. Garcia will serve as help in that regard.

"I don't think he's had those types of guys around him to push him or help him understand what it means to be a true professional at this level," Garcia said. "The guy is tremendously skilled, he's huge and we just want to get him into a position where he can be better on the field if he is physically better and mentally sharper.

"I think those are things he's starting to see right now and with me being involved this week and hopefully it's just something where the relationship continues to build."