We’ve seen NFL teams sign players from a variety of athletic backgrounds in hopes that they can thrive after making the transition to football many times.
The Chiefs will be trying to pull that off this summer. The team announced Friday that they have signed Tautvydas Kieras, who holds the Mississippi State record for the discus throw.
What Kieras does not hold is football experience. A native of Lithuania, Kieras has never played organized football before and first started training for a shot at a career on the gridiron in January at the suggestion of a professor who saw him around the gym. He found representation and began working out in Las Vegas with football coaches who Kieras says liked what they saw.
“Coaches were so surprised that I had never done stuff,” Kieras said, via Hail State Beat. “They’d tell me to do something, first or second try I’d do it correctly. It might not look as fluid, but then the fifth or sixth time, I look like another football player … It helped me a lot, discus. It was just a couple practices, but I felt comfortable with it. Tell me to run, I run. Tell me to knock the guy out, I knock the guy out. I felt comfortable.”
Kieras took part in Mississippi State’s pro day and put up a strong performance that obviously caught the eye of the Chiefs. The 6'3", 271-pounder is being listed a linebacker and will continue the transition to football when Kansas City kicks off its offseason program this spring.