BLOG #5
September 5, 2018
Every team in the NFL is allowed to have 53 players on their roster by the start of the season. With 32 teams in the NFL, there are approximately 1,696 players in the league that have the privilege to live out their childhood dream of lacing them up every Sunday. Compared to the thousands of collegiate football athletes and constant turnover in the NFL, players are always competing for their job. And that’s exactly what it is. In most cases, it’s their livelihood. Football is all these men have ever known. It’s what they have been working for all their lives.
This is often overlooked with the focus on stardom and million dollar contracts. Aaron Rodgers and Khalil Mack both received the richest contracts for an offensive and defensive player in the history of the league. Nobody is showing love for the guys who barely make the practice squad. But why not?
The HBO limited series, Hard Knocks follows the preseason training camp of an NFL Franchise for 13 seasons. This year it entered the notorious losers, 0-16 Cleveland Browns just a year ago. As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I love the advantage of beating up on the Browns twice a year, but this year’s season of Hard Knocks opening my eyes to the reality of the business.
With the season finale airing this past week, the preseason has officially concluded and cuts had to be made to meet that magic number of 53. Throughout the show, we were privileged to meet some interesting players with different circumstances. All of these players were fighting for a roster spot.
Carl Nassib, a defensive end with a great sense of humor was an absolute force in practice and in preseason play. He also taught classes for the younger players on how to manage their finances and plan for the future.
Nate Orchard, another defensive end has played with the Cleveland for three seasons, but is overlooked because of his size. The ultimate family man, Orchard was frequently seen with his three younger children on the sidelines after practice. His heart and hustle in practice were encompassed in a 64-yard interception for a touchdown in preseason week 4 against the Lions.
Brogan Roback, an undrafted Quarterback never really had a chance of making the Browns roster, but his arc as a player grew on me as the season went along. With the persona of a young immature frat boy, Roback made the most of his opportunities and proved his doubters that he can play. In his final drive of the Browns preseason, Roback impressed by leading his team down the field and throwing his first and maybe his last professional touchdown pass.
And finally, there is Devon Cajuste, an undrafted wide receiver turned tight end. As the fourth tight end on the roster, Cajuste needed to prove to the coaching staff that he could block. The all-embracing storyline of this season revolved around Devon’s relationship with his father. A heart-warming relationship of father-son comradery. His father’s face had proud-daddy written all over it whenever Devon made a big play. He was pulling for his son to make the roster every second he had of screen time. His father had me and many others convinced that Devon’s hard work and persistence to get better every day would pay off.
But in the end, like Devon and the rest of these players, their dreams of playing pro-football fell short, for now. Devon never let his struggles bring him down. If positivity is a virtue, Devon possessed it. Taking every challenge and situation in the most positive light.
Not all players are superstars. Not all players are millionaires. Not all players are good enough to make a team. At the end of the day, players like Nassib, Orchard, Roback, and Cajuste are just like us.
We are all working on perfecting our craft, facing daily struggles, learning how to deal with adversity, and doing whatever it takes to make a career and life for ourselves. Sometimes in our lives, we reach the crossroads, but that should never discourage you.
What’s your why? At the beginning of training camp, linebacker Christian Kirksey, asks all his teammates to write down their “why”, and hang it somewhere where they can see it every day.
What’s your why? My “why” is my family and my relationships. I want to make my family proud and be successful so that I can give back to them. My parents have given me so much opportunity and invested their lives in my future. Not only do I want to succeed for them, I want to be able to provide for my family someday. That’s what drives me to be great. At the end of the day, relationships and the people you love are what matters the most. I do it for them.
So the next time you are with your friends watching football on Sunday, ask yourself, what’s your why?
– Jake Beman