With the 2015 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, NFL teams are snatching up free agents to fill out their rosters for the summer. We'll likely know this week whether or not Michael Sam has a shot at playing in the NFL this season.
A team can carry as many as 90 player on its roster in the offseason. Official Team Activities (OTAs) coming in the last two weeks of May, and each NFL teams’ mandatory three-day camp will be held at some point from June 9-18. Almost all of the roster moves for these sessions will be made in the next week. Many teams were waiting to see whom they picked up in the draft, and then what undrafted free agent rookies they are able to sign in the next couple of days, before rounding out their rosters with some veterans like Sam.
As we reported before, Sam hadn't gotten a call from an NFL team this year as of the Super Bowl in February, meaning no team had requested to bring him in for even a workout.
If an NFL team doesn't sign him to a contract, Sam has said he will likely play in the CFL. The Montreal Allouettes have the rights to his CFL contract. The CFL season starts June 8 and Montreal's first game is June 13, making this week even more critical for Sam's 2015 playing status. If he isn't signed by an NFL team soon, he may have to head north this month or risk being sidelined for the season.
Depending on whom you ask, Sam's NFL future may be brightest if he does go to Canada in 2015. There he will likely get a boatload of playing time and a ton of tape of him performing well. While it's not the NFL, a productive season in the CFL will open more doors and more minds in NFL team front offices. Longtime personnel man Gil Brandt told me the CFL would be the best thing in the world for Sam for these reasons. Though certainly an invitation to join an NFL team at OTAs next month would be impossible to pass up.
NFL team's will have roster spots available after this week, but the number of opportunities remaining will be slim. We should know this week what uniform Sam will be wearing in June.
