No claims for Michael Sam, who can now sign to practice squad

Posted by Darin Gantt on August 31, 2014, 12:10 PM EDT
AP

The claiming deadline for players waived yesterday was noon today.

So if Michael Sam had been picked up by another team after being cut by the Rams, he’d have heard by now.

Via Tom Pelissero of USA Today, unless someone put in a last-minute claim for the seventh-round pick, he’s a free agent at the moment, and able to sign with a practice squad.

Likely, he’d stay with the Rams, who gave him a chance this summer to make the team, despite having one of the league’s best and deepest defensive lines.

But even if he signs with another team’s practice squad, he’d be making history, as the first openly gay player on an NFL roster.

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72 responses to “No claims for Michael Sam, who can now sign to practice squad”

  3. Nobody wanted him, shocker. He was clearly outplayed by Ethan Westbrooks who had more QB hurries and hits. Career backup. That career will likely be 2-3 seasons. I admire how hard he plays though, he’s a tough guy.

  4. The question is do the Rams want him on their practice squad with all the craziness that comes with him.

  8. Actually, given the Rams depth, if another team with less depth (and or quality depth) wanted to sign him to their practice squad, if I were Sam I would go there… better chance to make the team at some point.

  11. NFL coaches hate distractions, they have enough of them from the starters and certainly don’t need them from the back-ups.

    Tebow was a distraction and has no team
    Sams is a distraction and has no team

    Different sides of the political spectrum yet the same results…

    There should be no complaints…

  12. So far, it doesn’t look like there’s been a lot of other team’s players signed by anybody, at least not when compared to years past. Teams appear to be going with the guys they know. The Rams’ practice squad is a good place for Sam to be, the Rams have been pretty good about developing defensive line talent recently.

  14. Stop talking about history. This guy used his gay status to try and make a football team.

    If he had not came out, the results would still be the same.

  20. the problem he most likely won’t make an NFL practice squad so CFL is his only hope at this point. no matter how bad the media wants this he’s simply not good enough right now

  21. Mike Sam isn’t as good as a lot of folks are imagining or hoping he is.

    I didn’t see a player who deserves anything, based on his play. Then again, I am judging his play and not some cause.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if some team picks him up for their practice squad. I doubt it’ll be the Rams, based on their depth at the position. I’d see them adding other players where they lack depth. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t get picked up by anyone. That is they caliber of player he is.

    If he were faster and more agile, he might have a chance to play in the NFL.

  24. This reminds me of Troy Smith when he was a back up on the Ravens , all the people who wanted him to start kept citing his college career ” he should start b/c he won the Heismann” Based on Sam’s performance the assessment from the NFL are accurate. Borderline NFL player

  26. Noone wanted Sam. He was drafted by the Rams to save face for ESPN, Sam etc….. Does anyone ask why it was the Rams who drafted Sam? The Rams are probably the deepest team in the league on the D-Line. At the end of the day being drafted by the Rams gave him a sympathetic audience..mainly the liberal media. The same reporters who covered him in college at Missouri are largely the same ones covering the story for the Rams. He was put in a sympathetic and insulated situation. In the end if it turned out the way everyone knew it would.

  27. Sam is celebrated for simply being open about the fact he is attracted to men, 24-7 media coverage, potential reality shows, press conferences, ect. Yet most Americans cannot name one Medal of Honor recipient. Sad to see what has happened to my country.

  28. This had nothing to do with him being gay. There are plenty of closeted gays in the NFL. The real problem with Sam arises because he exploited his being gay. If I were a member of the LGBT community I would be ashamed of him. A team drafts him and he tries to do a reality show with the Oprah Network after the fact. He created this circus that no team wants. If the Rams knew he was planning in doing the reality show, I doubt they would have drafted him in the first place.

  30. PS
    Sam made a few non-noteworthy plays against second and third string aka inferior talents. He would have done zip against a starting unit.
    Even Fisher said after the Miami game that Sam hadn’t done anything noteworthy.

  31. So tired of the inaction of the POTUS! Worst president of the US ever!

    ————————————-

    How is this relevant?

  32. I don’t blame the media for putting Sam on a pedestal. Special interest groups run this country and if you voice an honest opinion about Sam, gay rights groups will ruin your career. It’s not worth it. Just say the “right things” and the process will work itself out. If he was a really good player, he would be on a team. It will happen one day. Eventually an openly gay player with truly elite talent will arrive. Just not now and not this player.

  33. So far the only “distractions” are media hype and commentators on football forums.

    He played ball, and he did it well. He’ll be on team soon enough.

  34. 2cmorgan says:
    Aug 31, 2014 1:10 PM
    Who cares there were 702 players released on Saturday but all we hear about is Michael Sam.

    ——————————-

    That’s because he;s openly gay. It makes him different from the other 701 players. It also makes his story something more people are interested in.

    Your supposed apathy isn’t as impressive as you think it is.

  35. Now I get it if you’re openly gay you are the darling of the media but if you’re openly Christian you get the media scorn and ridicule. Funny how that works.

  37. In a lot of ways the media doomed this guy from the beginning. They made it hard on the Rams and their players who were constantly bugged about him instead of letting him just be another player. Now every other team just made a statement, “we don’t want this media scrutiny part of our daily business and game prep.” The media will never take responsibility for it, and all they are doing is waiting to point the finger at the next person who says the wrong thing about the player. Pretty sad.

  38. Many of us pulled for you…you had your shot. Many other players don’t get a 2nd chance to make an impression…time to move on with reality…you just weren’t quick enough or feisty enough to make it as a DL in the NFL….and if it were me, I’d be at peace with that. But failing to become a special teams standout was a death nail to your tryout, IMO.

  39. Two reasons nobody picked him up: a) nobody wants the accompanying circus, and b) he’s not good enough. He was always a “tweener” position-wise, and that’s one thing that’ll never change.

    Now, let the activists’ uprising about unfairness and bias against gays begin.

  40. This would have been a good story except for the last paragraph. I kind of expected a practice squad spot for him just now! He’s a tweener, between LB and DE. Hopefully he can improve his game because you don’t get to be the Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC without talent. Im betting he’ll get lots of practice time at LB, probly a rushing LB. He’s quick enough, just not big enough! I wish him luck!

  43. Sammy just said he’d have a long career too…

    Good luck if you do make some team or a practice squad (decent money on practice squads).

    I don’t think he’ll have a long career…

    I mean I don’t consider Tebow’s career as long either and right now Sam’s got work to do to even get there…

  46. this should be a positive for gays.. Sam was treated equally (but the gay agenda is not really about equality, is it?)

    truth.. he is a tweener… not big enough for 4-3 DE, not fast enough for OLB, not athletic enough for either

  47. The media has no one to thank but itself for Sam not getting claimed on waivers, and they’ll have no one to thank but themselves after the Rams don’t put him on their PS.

    No one wants this circus, and we’re all already sick of it.

  50. conormacleod says:
    Aug 31, 2014 1:05 PM
    CFL??? He can make more money being an NFL practice squad player. Or doing most anything else. Most of us here make more than CFL players.
    ________

    The average salary in the CFL is 80k. Higher than NFL practice squad salary. Must be a lot of folks reading PFT and making 6 figures.

  52. I agree with those who say it’s unfair to focus so much attention on one guy just because he’s gay. Lots of guys lost their jobs yesterday, but they don’t have the media printing their stories as Sam does.
    I give Sam credit. He came out of the closet to maximize the attention he would get and use that leverage to get drafted. That worked. Then he made a deal to get money from the always chasing ambulances Oprah, but bowed out after he was criticized for it.
    I give the Rams credit for giving him a shot because they knew it would focus unwanted attention on what ever this guy did, but even more credit for having the guts to cut him when it was clear he’s just another player who’s too small to play on the “D” line and not good enough to play LB’er.
    The media hysteria over this guy, Tim Tebow, and Johnny Obnoxious Manziel has been ridiculous. I was glad when Tebow went away, I’m glad Sam is going away, and I’ll be happy if Manziel goes away.
    There are too many good guys who show up and play in the NFL without having to be in the spotlight for me to root for than these 3 media creations.

  53. barkster52 says:
    Aug 31, 2014 2:04 PM
    Now I get it if you’re openly gay you are the darling of the media but if you’re openly Christian you get the media scorn and ridicule. Funny how that works.

    Yes, those poor oppressed white christians. It’s about time they be given some power in in the US of A.

  54. Practice squad? Maybe. If the Rams are deep at the position, they might just pass on that, as well.

    Regardless, that sounds dandy. This story is about to hit the wall, thankfully.

  55. The lesson here is “if you’re not good enough and you know it.. Say you’re gay. The liberal media will do its best to try and pressure the right people to help you achieve your goals..”

  56. Hahaha hey liberals thought he was going I be in high demand lol

    Like Many have said, he is a below average player at best, if you guys wanna cheer and watch men kissing other men then go ahead and watch OZ. Stop trying to break down the culture of football. No one cares what people do in their beds except liberals.

  60. Yes, those poor oppressed white christians. It’s about time they be given some power in in the US of A.

    Speaking of a lack of tolerance for those not like you…liberal hypocrite.

  61. Do you remember that Mo’ne Davis girl in the Little League World Series? See, you already forgot about her. In a week from now, everyone will have forgotten about Sam too. That’s just how it is.

  62. This story is so unimportant it’s sickening…Advice? If your a gay man who wants to play NFL football and make millions of dollars keep your mouth shut…No one cares…

  63. One way to be openly gay is to be quietly openly gay with your teammates and coaches and another way is to make your sexual orientation a media event. I think the NFL is more than ready for the former and Sam chose the latter. There are risks and rewards in making yourself a media spectacle, as Sam is finding out.

  67. I’m hear y’all on this”liberal media” nonsense, and I feel your pain! The Fox News has become entirely too liberal for my tastes. There has to be an alternative for us decent folk.

  68. About the only reason he was drafted and given a shot was because he is gay. Sam’s coming out put a lot of pressure on the league to make sure that he got drafted despite his mediocre talent so that the league would not look prejudiced. Sam used the fact that he is gay to get a shot at the NFL that he likely would not have received without his coming out. He has now had his shot and did not make the cut, it is time to stop talking about him and start focusing on those who did make teams and how different teams are shaping up for the coming season.

  69. In civilized countries, sexuality doesn’t matter. Come north, where we simply don’t care about your life off the field, as long as you stay on the right side of the laws of the land. Of course, we’re in the middle of the season here, but teams still need players.

  71. Tired of hearing about him , don’t care that’s he’s gay or black or whatever. Sexual preference should be kept to yourself and if it’s not then maybe they just want attention ? I’d bet my life there’s been gay players to already play in the league but they didn’t announce and make a big deal about it.

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