Really won’t be shocked if Dallas picks him up. Jerry Jones loves the spotlight and their d-line is atrocious. As a Ravens fan who noticed we’re currently only carrying 5 D-linemen (though quality ones), I wouldn’t mind us picking him up either, but think that’s less likely, since it’s more the bruisers we need than another speed based pass rusher.
This cut wasn’t a shock and St. Louis is hoping everyone else passes so they can bring him back for the practice squad. My guess is that his play in the preseason gets him a back up gig somewhere though.
For people who don’t follow football, this was the final day to take rosters down from 75 players per team to the 53 you’re allowed in the regular season, so literally hundreds of people got cut today. No teams are done making moves though. A lot of the players cut today will end up on teams active rosters and far more will get signed to practice squads. Sam’s career isn’t close to over. His jersey sales (#6 overall since he was drafted) are enough to get him on somewhere, but he also played well enough for plenty of teams to give him a chance.
You correct that ESPN backed away, but the damage was done. It is along the lines of Dungy’s comments, about him, not that it is his fault, causing a distraction to the team. Any team who wants to pick-up of waivers will have to balance his talent with the potential distraction that will follow him. There will be a team that needs a pass rushing specialist, but not many that will be willing to inherit the “baggage” that comes with him.
If he was a all-pro talent or even a starter, then it would be worth it, but he is not.
Pass rush is important, so why not take a shot at the guy, had he played better he might have made the team.
The ESPN shower thing means squat. If a team needs him, they will take him. They don’t care what the media says.
And as I said, the Giants might take him because his jersey will definitely sell here in NYC, and there will be interest in following him, which is TV revenue.
Teams don’t care what the media says. They want to win and generate revenue.
No, it was a football move. Rams are deep at that position. Period. If they did not want him, they would not have drafted him. You are just talking real silly.
I know the Pats at one point were interested in him. But even if he doesn’t make the 42 man roster, he absolutely will be on an NFL practice squad this year. From there it will just be about his dedication to his craft. If he continues to learn he could get his first chance either as an injury replacement (remember this is the NFL) or next year.
I was thinking Dallas or San Francisco would pick him up off of waivers. Dallas because they suck on defense and Jerry would like the publicity. San Francisco because they just lost Aldon Smith for a 9 games suspension and its San Francisco. Of course if he is picked up by SF he may get cut when Smith’s suspension is up. Sam is good a getting after the QB and putting pressure on, not sure how good he is against the run and he doesn’t have the speed for special teams. He is kind of a tweener guy, not big enough for DE in NFL and too big and slow for LB. If he doesn’t end up on a 53 man roster the Rams will probably sign him to the practice squad.
If a team needs him enough to have to deal with the “baggage” that comes with him. When Vick got out of prison many people said he would never play again, however I felt that he would because he is a special talent. Not many people have the ability to dominate a pro-football game. Those players teams are willing to deal with the baggage that comes with him. Sam is not that player, he is at best a situational player at best. The problem is many teams just cut a bunch of those players.
So the Giants will take him, not because he will improve their team but because his gayness will bring in revenue? That doesn’t happen and team don’t generally add players because of that. If that were the case then Tebow would have been pick-up by the Jags, because he would have brought in massive revenue or the Texans would have drafted Johnny Football but they didn’t.
No, it didn’t help him at all. Teams don’t want articles aboutwith who or when gay players take showers. They don’t want their players being asked those question and they definitely don’t want their players answering them.
Yeah, I don’t really buy that. Michael Vick didn’t have too much “baggage” for the Eagles. Richie Incognito is almost certainly going to be bringing his “baggage” back to the NFL this year. Ray Rice single-handedly brought the league’s stance on domestic violence forward to 19th-century levels, but his “baggage” is light enough for the Ravens to keep him on. And so forth down a very, very long list that includes players who killed other people and kept right on playing.
I don’t have any reason to believe that the Rams are shining beacons of gay-friendly tolerance compared to the other teams in the league, and they still drafted him. To me that says that a gay player doesn’t need Jackie Robinson levels of talent to outweigh his “baggage,” even if it’s still not a level playing field. And from what people say about Sam’s talent–good but not great–I like his chances. Now, probably that will mean a relatively brief and undistinguished career with non-competitive teams–but then, that’s all most NFL players ever get.
Besides, Sam is handling this exactly the way his next employer will have wanted him to. Humble, determined, no hard feelings, grateful for the opportunity, etc. Hopefully he’s able to project this attitude because he really does feel like he was treated fairly, but either way, he’s not giving himself any additional baggage to handle.
this. had mr. sam not been the SEC defensive player of the year, he wouldn’t have been drafted at all. I think every NFL team has learned its “novelty” draft pick lesson, from the tim tebow debacle:
novelty draft picks aren’t worth the increase in jersey sales, if they can’t actually help the team win.
mr. sam was a numbers game victim: very few teams keep more than 3 DE’s, and you have show you’re better than the guy in front of you on the depth chart, not just as good, to replace him. it’s the way all human group activity works, not just professional football. mr. sam showed he can play at the pro level, I expect, if he clears waivers, he’ll be put on the rams’ practice squad. if he doesn’t clear waivers, another team will pick him up as a backup DE. I do think he’ll be on some team though, he showed both talent and potential, during the pre-season.
Draftees get routinely cut at the end of the NFL preseason. Unless there is evidence that the Rams released him because of his sexual orientation – dissention in the locker room, concerns about it becoming a media focal point and team distraction – rather than his performance on the field, it should be a one-day news story … and then we move on.
If he performed reasonably well but the team felt that they had better players at that position, then Sam may get another shot with another team at some point during the season.
You’re correct and anything that would prevent them from focusing on winning is a distraction. The media along with activist have hurt Sam’s chances of playing the NFL. The proof is that he wasn’t claimed off waivers. He is not talented enough for teams to take a chance on.
It isn’t personal, its just, as you said, winning and making money.
The difference is Vick was an top tier player, Sam is not. If you read my post, that is exactly what I said. If Sam was Mario Williams, Jadeveon Clowney, Jared Allen, J.J Watt, etc… like talent there wouldn’t be a discussion. However, Sam does not even come close to be talented as those other Defensive Ends or a tenth of the talent and potential game impact a player like Vick was.
Why was drafting Tebow a debacle? That draft had a very poor QB class and the Broncos needed a QB. Tebow in his short stint could be argued has been the most successful of any QB taken in that Draft. Sam Bradford was the #1 player drafted and has been in and out, due to injury, the last four years. Tebow came in when the Broncos were 1-5, he went 7-3 has a starter and won a playoff game. Tebow is not an NFL QB but he was far from a draft debacle. Draft debacles are like Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, Akili Smith, etc…players like this were all suppose to be franchise QBs. Nobody every thought, to include the Broncos, that Tebow was going to be a franchise QB.
Sam wasn’t a draft debacle either. The Rams took a chance to see if he played better than his stats indicated he would and they determined he doesn’t.
