24-year-old Michael Sam made history last May when he became the first openly gay player to be drafted in the NFL, but ESPN reports that today (August 30) he was cut by the St.Louis Rams.
The Rams drafted the defensive end in the seventh round of the draft and he was the No. 249 pick overall, but he was beat out for the final round of cuts by undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrooks. Teams have to make their final cuts to get to the league requirements of 53 players per team.
As of 4 p.m. this Saturday (August 30), Sam is now in a position of limbo known as waivers, which means that any of the other 31 teams in the NFL may make a claim on Sam up until noon this Sunday (August 31). If no team claims him, however, he can join a practice squad. According to ESPN, a source says that the Rams would still like to bring him on for their practice squad.
Sam tweeted his gratitude to the team, despite being cut, and thanked them for the opportunity to show his skill.
In his preseason performance, Sam netted 11 tackles and three sacks, even earning some accolades from coach Jeff Fisher.
“I believe he can play in this league,” Fisher said.
In the final preseason game on Thursday (August 28), Sam finished with a six tackles, the highest for the team.
If another teams does elect to claim a waived player, they can begin the signing process on Sunday after the waiver period is done.
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