Report: NFL Asked Teams to Sign Michael Sam to Practice Squad to Avoid 'Nightmare Situation'

The NFL was reportedly scared of the mainstream media blowback that it would receive if Michael Sam, the league’s first openly gay player, did not make a team. 

When the Rams cut Michael Sam last weekend, the NFL reportedly called teams to inquire if they had “evaluated Sam as a possible practice squad player,” according to a report from MMQB’s Peter King. 

Before Thursday night’s NFL season opener between Seattle and Green Bay, King reported that Sam and the NFL eventually avoided a “nightmare situation” when Jerry Jones and the Cowboys ultimately signed him to the practice squad. 

Sam, a prototypical tweener who is not big enough to be on the defensive line and not fast enough to play linebacker, would have found it difficult to make any team’s 53-man roster.