All NFL Teams Pass on Michael Sam
The openly gay NFL hopeful and recipient of this site's Truthdigger of the Week distinction was cut by the St. Louis Rams on Saturday.
The openly gay NFL hopeful and recipient of this site’s Truthdigger of the Week distinction was cut by the St. Louis Rams on Saturday. No team picked him up during the league’s waiver period.
Sam played with the Rams during the preseason. Coach Jeff Fisher said the outcome was “a football decision” that had nothing to do with Sam’s sexual orientation.
“We mentioned when we signed Michael that it was going to be a tough road,” Fisher told NFL.com. “Those four defensive ends we have on the roster are good, they’re very productive. It’s a strength of our football team. It was a football decision.
“There were no issues, that’s the thing. No issues in the team meeting room, on the field, anyplace.”
The Guardian reports:
The NFL’s waivers period expired [Sunday] at noon, without Sam having signed for one of the other 31 teams in the league. The Rams can still sign him to their practice squad, but reports said that was unlikely, given the depth in Sam’s position which had caused his failure to make their 53-man roster for the season which begins on Thursday.
Sam could sign for another team’s practice squad; some observers have suggested he could find a place in the Canadian Football League.
Sportswriter Cyd Zeigler, a contributor to Outsports.com, wrote: “All 31 other NFL teams have now passed on Michael Sam for a second time. If he’s not put on a practice squad that will be very, very bad.”
On Saturday, Sam tweeted: “The most worthwhile things in life rarely come easy, this is a lesson I’ve always known. The journey continues.”
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly
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