The 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies take place July 26. Although flag football will not become a part of the festivities until 2028, I decided to explore NFL players and which sports in which they may have found success had they chosen a different career path.
100-meter dash: WR Xavier Worthy, Chiefs
Worthy ran the 100-meter dash in 10.55 seconds as a sophomore in high school. He set the NFL Combine record by running the 40-yard dash in 4.21 seconds. In consulting 40-yard dash to 100-meter dash conversion tables, a rough estimate is 10.05 seconds in the 100-meter dash. The gold medalist from the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020, Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs, ran the race in 9.80 seconds. For as fast as Worthy is as an NFL player, there is another level of speed on the international scene.
Basketball: TE Mo-Alie Cox, Colts
The United States of America men's basketball team is loaded with the best of the best from the NBA, including LeBron James, Steph Curry, Devin Booker and many others. A former starting forward at VCU is not going see much playing time but he could step in, provide some physicality and grab some boards.
Beach volleyball: WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys
I honestly have no clue if Lamb has a background in volleyball; this is one of the true projections on this list. Lamb is a tall athlete with a history of high-pointing the ball. If he spikes it or blocks it at the rim instead of catching it, then he could be highly effective. Lamb has tremendous ball control down the field.
Boxing: EDGE DeMarcus Ware, formerly of the Cowboys and Broncos
Ware long used mixed martial arts to refine his pass rushing skills in the offseason. It is unknown which discipline he skews more towards and boxing is not an apples to apples comparison, but in searching for someone that has a background in the sport, Ware was one of the most decorated.
Equestrian: LB Devin White, Eagles
Growing up in rural Louisiana, White learned to ride horses at an early age and has had a passion for it ever since. He now owns several horses and a property to house them. There are multiple elements of equestrian, like dressage, cross country, jumping, etc...so White could focus on one discipline.
Flag football: WR Tyreek Hill, Dolphins
Hill is fast, but he's also incredibly twitchy and sudden. The six-time All-Pro has dropped just 4.9% of his NFL targets, according to TruMedia. He is consistent catching the football and incredibly elusive in open space. Hill would make others look silly on flag swipe attempts.
Freestyle wrestler: DL Gable Steveson, Bills
Steveson is the only gold medalist on this list. He won the medal in the 125kg weight class as part of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Steveson was a two-time national champion wrestler at Minnesota and is now using his leverage exposure to deconstruct blocks in the NFL.
Golf: WR Adam Thielen, Panthers
It is often the quarterbacks that find the most success playing golf, but Thielen is well-documented as being a great golfer. Thielen has played in several pro-am tournaments to this point in his career, including a seventh-place finish at last weekend's American Century Championship over players such as Harrison Smith, Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan and Josh Allen. One report stated that his handicap is a 0.6.
A few former players who could be challengers include Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee.
Handball: QB Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
There is a lot of value in a player who can throw a ball hard and from different arm angles when it comes to handball. As an NFL player and a father of two (soon to be three) children, Mahomes is conditioned to running and chasing. There would be a learning curve, but Mahomes could find a place on the court.
Long jump: WR Marquise Goodwin, formerly of the Bills, 49ers and others
Goodwin was with Cleveland last season but is currently unsigned. He represented the United States in the long jump at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The Texas native won two college national championships for the Longhorns and set the high school record in 2009.
Rugby sevens: EDGE Myles Garrett, Browns
Rugby is a sport of which I do not claim to be an expert. Thinking of the New Zealand All Blacks, they always have incredibly physical players who run through arm tackles. Garrett has athleticism and physicality; let him carry the ball and see what happens.
Safety Nate Ebner, formerly of the Patriots and Giants, was named MVP of the USA rugby team at the under-19 International Rugby Board (IRB) Junior World Championship in 2007 and the under-20 IRB Junior World Championship in 2008.
Table tennis: Any player on a losing team
Any time a team encounters a rough patch in its season, head coaches remove all distractions from the facility and table tennis always seems to be the first to go. Does that mean these players are playing too much ping pong and therefore are better than those on winning teams? Almost certainly not. The reality is that the move itself is probably more of a statement than an actual aid to a team's future success. But for this exercise, let's assume the best table tennis players reside on the worst NFL franchises.
Triple jump: CB Andru Phillips, Giants
Phillips was a two-time All-State champion in the triple jump. He won the 2019 South Carolina state championship with a jump of 49 feet, 3.5 inches. The Tokyo Olympic champion, Portugal's Pedro Pichardo, had a jump of 59 feet.
Water polo: QB Russell Wilson, Steelers
Swimming has long been a staple in Wilson's training regimen. His comfort in the pool and with his presumed ability to tread water, as well as his arm strength and accuracy, would give him a chance to find success in water polo.
Weightlifting: DT Harrison Phillips, Vikings
Only 15 prospects have put up 40 repetitions or more of 225 pounds on the bench press at the NFL combine. Only three of those players are active: Lions offensive guard Netane Muti (44), Phillips (42) and Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea (41). Phillips has that squatty frame of a weightlifter.
There is also the history of Equanimeous and Amon-Ra St. Brown, whose father, John Brown, was two-time Mr. Universe and three-time Mr. World. If Amon-Ra St. Brown could get under 196 pounds, then he would qualify for the 89 kg division.
Greco-roman wrestling: C Zach Frazier, Steelers
Steveson has the claim to freestyle wrestling, but Frazier's wrestling background should be acknowledged as well. He was a four-time state champion in West Virginia. The rookie only lost two matches in his high school career and had the highest winning percentage of any high school wrestler in his county.
