About a month ago, the NFL announced plans to hold the first-ever veteran combine on March 22. The combine is scheduled to coincide with the NFL owners meetings, which will take place March 22-24 in Arizona.
Former St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys defensive end Michael Sam is interested in being the recipient of one of the 100 invitations that will be extended to veteran players not currently in the league.
Regarding the establishment of the first veteran combine, NFL director of football development Matt Birk had this to say about its purpose (via CBS Sports).
There’s a void there. There was nothing for that guy out there who has one or two or three years in the league and is not with a team and is at the mercy of when the phone rings or when his agent gets him a workout. This will be a forum for these guys to showcase their talents and a service for our clubs instead of [what had been] an inefficient process.
This is where Sam, who was the first openly gay player in the NFL, fits in. Sam was originally drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. However, he was one of the team’s final cuts prior to the start of the regular season. Productive in the preseason, Sam had 11 tackles and three sacks. After being released by the Rams, Sam landed on the Dallas’ Cowboys’ practice squad but was never activated. He was then released when DeMarcus Lawrence came back from injury.
Should Sam not be invited to attend the veteran’s combine, he does have a one-year offer to play for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.
We’ve got to hand it to Sam for pursuing his dream. Perhaps 2015 will be the year things work out in his favor.
Photo: ESPN