David Nelson is a free agent wide receiver who spends a lot of his offseason time doing humanitarian work in Haiti. You’d think that would be the kind of thing that would make NFL teams proud to have him on their roster, but Nelson says that’s no the case.
In fact, Nelson wrote on his website that he remains unsigned as training camps are opening in large part because teams look at all the time he spends doing charity work and wonder if he’s fully committed to football.
“No one’s questioning my abilities,” Nelson wrote. “Instead, I’m hearing questions about my commitment because I’m outspoken about my nonprofit, and I do a lot to make it successful. Rather than posting pictures of me at the gym (which I go to every day), I choose to use my social media and interview opportunities to showcase our organization’s amazing work. They don’t think my head’s in the game, but it’s all guesswork. Perception isn’t always reality, and that’s the case here. These coaches and owners don’t know me, and they don’t have any interest in changing that.”
In fairness to the teams that aren’t signing him, it could just be a matter of teams not thinking Nelson is good enough. With the Jets last year, Nelson managed just eight catches for 65 yards, and he fumbled on two of those eight receptions. He hasn’t exactly set the world on fire when given the opportunity.
But in the NFL, where teams want players to be slavishly devoted to football, it wouldn’t be surprising if there are, in fact, teams that view Nelson’s charity work as a mark against him. If so, that doesn’t speak well for the NFL.