Fox News broke a story that international sprinting legend Usain Bolt received offers from NFL teams to play wide receiver.
What did we miss with the Jamaican runner not joining the sport? Although we may never truly know what could have been, I might be able to help speculate what we missed out on if we use Hall of Famer “Bullet” Bob Hayes as our yard marker.
Bob was a dominant player during his time with the Cowboys and 49ers from 1965 through 1975. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1965, 1966 and 1967, and also was a first-team all-pro in 1966 and 1968 and, by the time he hung up his cleats, he had caught 71 touchdowns and had a Super Bowl ring.
Bolt stated that offers had started to roll in after his 2008 and 2012 Olympic performances. After the 2008 games, he was only 22. Hayes was 23 when he was a rookie. Bolt was 26 at the time of the 2012 games. However, one thing that we must keep in mind is that Bolt never played football at any point in his life.
This throws an unfortunate yet realistic spin on what could have been. With his hands not being a focus, we hypothetically could have seen him more prominently used in a kick returning position like former Pittsburgh Steeler, Dri Archer. It may not be the most glamorous comparison in the world, but exchanging Dri’s experience for Bolt’s Olympic speeds will have to do. So, how did Archer do? Since most of us forgot him it may not be surprising to hear that Archer was only able to gain 580 yards over his 20 games played, (per pro football reference).
In reality, were we truly deprived of an all-time NFL great? I don’t think we did, but it would have been fun to watch him run with a football.
