Michael Sam runs incredibly slow 40-yard dash

By Evan Massey | Mar 22, 2015

Mar 22, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Defensive end Michael Sam (11) participates in drills during the NFL Veteran Combine at the Arizona Cardinals training facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Former St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Michael Sam ran an incredibly slow 40-yard-dash during the veteran combine.

Michael Sam is trying to get his NFL career going again and is participating at the 2015 NFL Veteran Combine. It is an attempt by him to get back into the league, but his numbers aren’t doing him any favors this afternoon. His 40-yard dash was an absolute disaster, and was worse than his draft combine numbers.

Michael Sam ran an unofficial 5.1 and 5.07 in the 40 today at the NFL Veteran Combine.
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) March 22, 2015

Obviously the number one reason that Sam’s name comes up so much despite being out of the league is that he made history. He was the first openly gay NFL player to be drafted and play in the league. The media was all over his attempt to make the St. Louis Rams, and then went crazy when Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys decided to sign him.

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There have been plenty of people who think that him being gay has given him less of a chance to make an NFL roster. This number alone suggests that isn’t true.

Sam has yet to play in an NFL regular season game, and quite frankly won’t unless he can get this type of number up. A 5.1 and 5.07 40-yard dash is simply unacceptable for any NFL player that is undersized like Sam is. His only chance to make a roster would be as an edge pass rusher, but this lack of speed brings up major concerns about whether or not he can even do that.

At 25 years old, Sam’s career is very much in jeopardy following this performance at the combine. He wasn’t good enough before, and now things look dire especially after his numbers have gotten worse.

Don’t expect to see any team show interest in giving him another chance until he improves this number. It will be interesting to see what type of response his performance at the combine gets from fans and analysts over the next week. He was a borderline NFL talent when he was drafted last season and his coaches liked him, but he simply can’t afford to get worse than what he was.

All of that being said, Sam has gained enough publicity from the NFL Draft process last year to get quite a few opportunities in other avenues other than football. His football career may be over, but he is still going to be a very successful person in another fields.

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