Michael Sam, who was first waived by the St. Louis Rams, has been waived again by an NFL team on Tuesday.
The Dallas Cowboys have decided to release the rookie defensive end from the practice squad. The first openly gay player in NFL history is now free to sign with any team.
Sam took to twitter soon after the report broke to express his appreciation to the Cowboys organization and fans:
I want to thank the Jones family and the entire Cowboys organization for this opportunity, as well as my friends, family, teammates, (1/3)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014
and fans for their support. While this is disappointing, I will take the lessons I learned here in Dallas and continue to fight for an (2/3)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014
opportunity to prove that I can play every Sunday. (3/3)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014
Sam played college football at the University of Missouri and was named the SEC co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. He was initially drafted by the Rams with the 249th overall pick in May. He played in all four preseason games, totaling three sacks and 11 tackles, before being waived in the final round of roster cuts in August.
After his release by the Rams, Sam decided to join the Cowboys on Sept. 3. Coach Jason Garrett praised Sam, stating that he “comes to work every day and practices hard.” Although he never made it into an NFL game, the NFL recently increased the size of practice squads this year from eight to 10 players, so the chances of Sam finding a new team and playing on the field seem high.
