There were almost 3,000 players on NFL rosters when camp started and many of them would be hard to pick out of a crowd on the field without a name and/or number on the back of their jerseys.
That isn’t the case with Babatunde Aiyegbusi. At 6'9" and 351 pounds, Aiyegbusi is tough to miss even in a league filled with guys that have imposing builds. Unfortunately for Aiyegbusi, size alone doesn’t guarantee you a job in the regular season.
The Polish import announced on Facebook Saturday that his “purple dream ends up right here” and that he’s looking back at his time with the Vikings fondly. Aiyegbusi signed with the team after playing in European leagues, which didn’t really prepare him for all he would have to learn in order to turn himself into an NFL football player. He didn’t play too much in the preseason, which was a pretty good sign that the Vikings weren’t going to keep him on the 53-man roster.
He does have practice squad eligibility, so his overall NFL hopes may not be extinguished. When his steep learning curve and the fact that he’s 27 are taken into account, though, it wouldn’t be surprising if teams opted for younger players with more experience over the gigantic Pole.