Bills receiver Marquise Goodwin’s 2015 NFL season was a bust, but his 2016 track and field season is off to a good start.
Goodwin competed at the Millrose Games, a major indoor track meet, on Saturday, and took third place in his best event, the long jump, with a jump of 25 feet, 8 inches. That means he’s right where he wants to be to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. Goodwin finished 10th in the long jump at the 2012 Olympics with a jump of 25 feet, 7 inches, and he’s a favorite heading into the U.S. Olympic trials on July 1.
Goodwin also took sixth place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.68 seconds. Although Goodwin is obviously fast, he will not attempt to sprint at the Olympics.
The Bills have indicated that they’re OK with Goodwin focusing more on track than on football during the offseason, but if Goodwin does make the U.S. Olympic team, it may cost him a shot at making the Bills’ 2016 roster. If Goodwin goes to the Olympics in August, he’ll miss all of training camp and most of the preseason, and by that point he may be too far behind the team’s other wide receivers to earn a roster spot. Injuries have forced him to miss as many games as he’s played in his three-year NFL career, and now he may put football on the back burner while he makes the Olympics his top priority.