When Tyler Wilson was chosen by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft, he figured he had a long football career ahead of him. As it turned out, Wilson was cut at the end of the preseason -- the highest-drafted player not to make his team that year -- and has still not played in a regular-season NFL game.
Now, Wilson, who was a first-team All-SEC quarterback at Arkansas, sounds resigned to the idea that he’s going to need to find something to do with his life other than playing football. Wilson told a local Arkansas newspaper that if he isn’t signed by a team by the start of training camp, he’ll take that as a sign that it’s over.
“At this point, I’ll give this thing until August,” Wilson said. “If I’ve with a team, I’ll continue to play and work into camp. I’m ready to go another direction. There’s life after football.”
Wilson worked out at the NFL Veteran Combine and got some attention from the Bears and Lions, but he still doesn’t have an NFL contract.
“The Combine went great,” Wilson said. “I had a lot of feedback afterward. I went to Chicago for a week and then went to Detroit for another week. I heard really good feedback. I didn’t get signed by either place but had a lot of positive reviews.”
Those positive reviews, however, aren’t enough to land Wilson a roster spot. It sounds like this fourth-round pick will walk away without ever throwing an NFL pass.