Al Davis isn’t going to make this easy for JaMarcus Russell, and Russell isn’t in the mood to make it easy for Al Davis.

Stalemate!

On Friday, the opening day of a mandatory minicamp, neither side blinked, producing another grand moment of Raiders Kabuki Theater.

Russell is going . . . still here.

You have the Raiders, who would like Russell to take a pay cut befitting his new backup status or leave; and you have Russell, who wants every dollar he signed for, and then to leave.

So Russell wasn’t cut. Instead, he reported to camp and participated in both practices alongside presumptive starting quarterback Jason Campbell, Charlie Frye and Kyle Boller.

By the way, Russell actually looked quite good and appeared to be a little thinner than at the end of last season. Let’s guess that Russell currently weighs about 270 pounds — more than he should but less than has been speculated.

After the morning practice, Russell amiably talked with reporters and left it quite clear that he’s not sure how long he will remain a Raider.

“My thing is to keep coming out to work,” Russell said, “until they tell me not to. Till then, I’m going to keep coming out, compete for the job and keep working my tail off.”

In a special, only-by-the-Raiders feature, Russell’s team-assigned “minder,” Eddie Anderson, was the co-headliner in the Russell media session.

Anderson stood next to Russell and repeatedly cut off questions about Russell’s weight, his relationship with coach Tom Cable, his chances of winning the starting job, and the prospect of restructuring his contract.

“Don’t discuss that,” Anderson interjected at one point. “We’re not going to discuss that.”

Russell, for his part, seemed slightly amused by Anderson’s interruptions; Russell did get in a quick “not at all” when he was asked if he had already agreed to a restructuring.

He’s owed a guaranteed $3 million this season — to bring his total Raiders payout close to $40 million — and will be owed another $6.45 million if he makes the Week 1 roster. Late last season, Russell said he would not be interested in changing his contract.

Key point: If Russell gets seriously injured in these or any other team workouts, he would be owed the remaining $6.45 million no matter what.

The Raiders either aren’t afraid of Russell getting hurt or they’re dead set on him competing against Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski, who is sidelined this camp with a pectoral-muscle injury.

Or they don’t know for sure what they want to do with Russell and when they’re going to do it.

If the Raiders aren’t worried about a minicamp injury, there isn’t financial pressure to make a decision on Russell until training camp — when there’s a real chance he could get hurt.

So maybe Davis holds on for many more weeks, trying to lure Russell into a pay cut. Maybe Davis thinks there’s a chance that Campbell can serve as a mentor for Russell, if Russell accepts it.

And maybe Russell shrugs his shoulders, does what he’s told to do, refuses the pay cut, and then by mid-July, Al will have to decide once and for all.

The Raiders have all but moved on from their Russell Era, and Russell has moved on from his Raiders Era. Now both sides are going through the minicamp motions, waiting for the other to blink.