Michael Sam remains a free agent after the Dallas Cowboys released him from their practice squad back in October. Smith had stints with both the Cowboys and St. Louis Rams before he was cut, and he has not been able to find another home in the NFL.
Is that because he is gay?
TMZ caught up with Sam earlier this week and asked him if he feels that he is not on an NFL roster or practice squad because of his sexual preference or because he isn’t a good enough football player.
“I think I was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year last year, so I don’t think it had to do with that,” Sam said.
In other words, Sam believes he is good enough. He has said all the right things publicly since being let go by the Rams and Cowboys, but it seems like there is a little bitterness there.
We can’t get inside the minds of NFL executives. What we do know is that Sam is a bit undersized for an NFL defensive lineman. He weighs 255 pounds and is built more like a linebacker, but he doesn’t have tremendous speed. He also does not contribute on special teams, which always works against players who are not going to start or play regularly on offense or defense.
Again, we don’t know if NFL teams are hesitant to sign Sam because he is gay. If he were a more talented and well-rounded player, we could answer that question a lot easier.
