AJ’s first year in the Pro’s has officially ended and Year 2 is coming in hot! As this new season begins to unfold, I find myself thinking a lot about the blessings and the upsets of the past year.
The road to becoming a professional athlete is in NO way easy. It starts long before your first day as a Rookie and, in a way, starts all over again at each new level you reach.
Think about it – your passion comes at a young age, most people in little league. Say you try out for the middle school team, do pretty well and end up making the high school team. Then you come in as a Freshman fighting to make your presence known amongst the older, more experienced players. You succeed, reach your Senior year as the talk of your hometown with plenty of College teams looking in your direction. Then you land yourself a scholarship, graduate to the next level, and start all over again. The youngest, the newest, with the most to prove.
It’s even more intense on the professional level. Up until now each stage has had a clear start and end date. You know on your first day of high school exactly when your last day will come. In college, you sign your first contract. If you hold up your end, your grades, attendance, your commitment, you’ve got a guaranteed 4, maybe 5 years as a student athlete. Then you make it to the Pros, where NOTHING is guaranteed. Your contract looks and sounds great, but they can’t promise you tomorrow. And the pressure that you’ve already become so accustom to? Yeah, it’s now growing at a rate far beyond anything you’ve ever felt before.
The Beginning
AJ’s transition from College ball to the NFL officially started on Saturday, December 23rd, 2017 – his 22nd birthday (just weeks after graduation). This particular day was his final college game, the Dollar General Bowl, where we beat out the Toledo Rockets 34-0 (only way to leave ’em!!!). When the game ended, he had chosen his agent and within 24 hours he was signed. So many factors went into choosing. Agents can offer so much, but what they represent is what matters. Leading up to this day, this agent had shared his knowledge, credited by a solid number of guys he had helped succeed into and through the NFL. He had shared his story, the trainers he was connected with, and the faith he and his family had at the base of it all. What really sealed the deal: he flew to ATL and drove 1.5 hours out to Hamilton, GA to sit down with AJ’s family. No one else did that.
Pro Day
A series of things happened next. AJ received an invite to the NFLPA Bowl Game held at the Rose Bowl in California. So he went out there, played, and then packed his bags for Arizona, where he and his agent decided he would train in preparation for Pro Day. He spent 2 months out West, loved it, and then came back a month before to finish his training at App.
Pro Day was a success! Up until that day, we had documented 19 of the 32 teams that had reached out to AJ. He nailed the testing, drills, and had a number of scouts crowding around him by the time he finished. From where myself & his family stood watching, it was a confirmation of just how real things were about to get!
The Draft
Draft day was INTENSE. At this point we were all back in GA. The family got together as a united front for whatever good or bad news came next. That day was a series of phone calls and emotions. Like I said, 19 teams had been in contact over the past few months, but at this time there were just a few that seemed serious. His agent had prepared him with his opinion on the best fit for him: the Cardinals. But AJ had been told by another team that he would get one of their 6th or 7th round picks. When that time came and passed, you can imagine the emotions he was feeling.
The 10 minutes right after the Draft ended were just CRAZY. I remember exactly: AJ was sitting on the front porch answering call after call, myself and his 2 sisters there for moral support.
A call from his agent saying he’s working up the best deal between 2 teams.
A call from Team One asking for an answer.
A call from the Cardinal’s wanting the same.
A call from agent again: “Are you willing to take a lower signing bonus for a higher chance of playing? The other is offering more money, but do you want to be on a team that has that many safeties already?”
A call from Team One again, “You need to give me an answer right now, I called you, NOT your agent, your agent works for YOU! Tell ME the answer”
(Umm…. excuse me sir? No thanks.)
Result: Team One was a no go… and freaking rude if you ask me. And AJ gives the Arizona Cardinals an official YES.
***Champagne popping immediately followed***
Pre-Season
So he flew out West once again. This time, officially a name on the Arizona Cardinals roster!!!! First game, he got a beautiful interception and afterwards the coach handed him the game ball. Looking good so far, right? He plays great through all of Pre-Season, all the way through the last game on Thursday, August 30th, 2018.
After the final game you’re suppose to go home and wait. You wait for no phone call. Yeah, you don’t want one. They only call you if they’re cutting you because at the end of Pre-Season, they have to cut down from the 90-man roster to 53 guys on Active, and 10 on Practice Squad. So the weekend passes on, it’s finally Sunday and it’s officially released that AJ is a member of the 53-man roster!!! But, in the days since the final game, AJ’s toe hasn’t felt right. On Sunday morning he goes in to get it checked out and they tell him he’s torn a ligament in his big toe: what they call, Turf Toe.
What happened next involved doctors, second & third opinions, and a lot of negotiating. On September 7th, 2018, upon a decision made between AJ, his agent, and the team, the Cardinals waived him from IR with an Injury Settlement and a recovery plan.
As you can imagine, it felt like he had stared his goal straight in the face, only to turn away seconds later with a 6-week recovery sentence. Frustrating. But God had a plan.
Recovery & Visits
AJ did his time. He did his rehab, got his foot back right, and after just 4 weeks he flew out to Tampa Bay for his first visit with another team. By now he had decided Arizona wasn’t where he belonged. Tampa had been very enthusiastic about him, but he came off that field feeling like he had done himself an injustice. He wasn’t ready. The toe wasn’t ready, and he had no other choice but to go back and rehab some more.
Fast forward a week, he flies out to Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Boston. Three more visits, all went very well! He felt healed. It’s amazing how much a week can change things. But like everything else in this crazy business, all three resulted in last minute changes made by the coaches. I can’t say this loud enough, there are so many FACTORS beyond your talent that fight against you at this level.
After his workout with the Patriots he felt great. The staff there kept telling him they were stoked to have him, they wanted him so bad. So when the workout was over, he was sitting in a room by himself, waiting for an answer, and a woman walks in. She tells him that Bill Belichick had changed his mind: he wanted a wide receiver now, not a safety. Talk about a freaking let-down. Holy cow.
So he came home again and things turned up. Within 2 days his agent had him flown out to New York and signed to the New York Giants Practice Squad, no workout necessary.
The Giants
AJ loved his time with the Giants. He makes friends everywhere he goes (most people do when you spend all day everyday with the same people), but in New York/Jersey he had the time of his life. I mean, I had the time of my life visiting him. Who doesn’t love New York City?! He got there Week 8 and was with them for the rest of the season.
The Play-Offs
In the last couple weeks of the season, his agent told him he had something brewing up with the Patriots. Belichick wanted AJ, but you can’t poach someone from another team’s Practice Squad to your own Practice Squad. You have to bump them up to Active roster, unless the team you’re poaching from doesn’t make it to the playoffs and their season officially ends. In that case, you have a 7 day waiting period after the final regular season game before you can sign one of their players. And that’s exactly what they did. AJ denied a re-sign for offseason with the Giants (which was a gamble, considering Belichick changed his mind so quickly last time), trusted the process and waited his 7 days. He flew out to Boston and officially signed as a New England Patriot for the Playoffs!
He loved it. One of the first things he recognized was the level of expectation in that facility. He could tell that everyone wanted to succeed and they all put in the kind of work needed to do so. Not to mention, they won the SuperBowl. What an experience.. as a Rookie.. a SuperBowl ring… in Year 1. So crazy.
So he re-signed when off-season came around and here we are. Two weeks into Year 2’s workouts!
Year 1 was full of many blessings and rewards that felt rightfully due after years spent working to get here. But it also had its pitfalls. That kind of stress was new. It was hard. It was scary. Being a Rookie means a lot of things. It means, once again, you’re back at the bottom. Your coaches are learning your name, your teammates are ever-changing, you often times don’t end up on the same team from the start of the year to the finish. (In our case, like many others, AJ was the new guy 3 times.) You’re paying your dues, showing up with donuts every Saturday and picking up 5 different types of hair product because a vet called you with super vague Rookie demands (LOL).
So many people think of AJ as having “made it”, and honestly, he really has. He’s conquered each stage, become an expert in his craft, and reached the top level in his game. On one hand – if he quit tomorrow, he could walk away feeling that he DID it. He earned and held a spot in the National Football League. But on the other hand, people who make it to this level are never satisfied. They’re hungry. They want more. They can’t stop until they feel they’ve given it all they’ve got. It’s the burden of the driven soul that reaps success.
So our story goes on. And until my hard-working & talented hubby wakes up one day and feels the end has truly come, we will ride this wave and enjoy every minute God gives us!
So keep your eyes peeled for number 39, because the season isn’t too far away 😉
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