The Rejection of Myron Rolle

still blows my mind that with all his academic interests, he chose Florida State

someone didn't read the article

Utter bullshite.

The titans and steelers cut him because he was a Rhodes Scholar? Get out of here with that. If you can play, you can play. Obviously this guy wasn't showing enough in practice to warrant playing time.

This guy needs to stop making excuses for himself and move on.

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is that the jist of the article? It was kinda long and im being lazy.

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I stopped reading after his NFL career ended in the story.

The article paints him as not fitting in his entire life. Always being a fish out of water.

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As soon as I ask Rolle the question about the NFL being a failure, I see where the failure truly lies. It is not with Rolle or what he was able to give the NFL. It's with the NFL. They may have squandered an opportunity, missing out on a player who not only could change perceptions, but through his foundation, also change lives and use his position for social good. And in era when people question the value of the game, the NFL may have also lost a spokesperson who could articulate the appeal and role of the sport even at a time when its physical risks become ever more apparent.

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Yeah
frick that

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Yea they never show bias in the NFL

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for being smart?

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Move on? He's in med school.

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didn't stop him from participating in a pity party article.

Seems like Perriloux article but in a different way.

Rolle was a bit of a flop in college for his rating. For being such a smart guy off the field, he wasn't that intuitive on the field.

FSU SB Nation editor's response is dead-on:


I disagree with the extent of the premise upon which the piece is built

THE NFL WANTED HIM … UNTIL HE WAS NAMED A RHODES SCHOLAR

Is the NFL scared of a player with Myron’s smarts? Perhaps. But this idea that they basically ignored a first-round talent because of his intelligence is just not true. There’s a story here, and a good one, without having to embellish to this extent.

After the 2008 season, Scout.com projected Rolle as the 18th pick in the first round of the upcoming draft, and commented, “This might be way too low,” calling him “a prototype NFL safety.”


Scout.com is a recruiting site, not a draft outlet. It may have had someone writing about the draft at that time, but citing Scout.com’s take on a player’s draft prospects is only marginally better than using a random message board member. I don’t know of anyone who had closely followed Rolle who thought he could have gone in the first round.

Still the lure of the NFL was tempting. First-round money was not insignificant. “Everyone was pointing me toward getting two to three million dollars guaranteed, a signing bonus, playing right away.”


If Myron had really been this can’t miss NFL prospect, but for his year away, he would have been a major story before and around the draft. But I don’t recall the “where will he go?” / “how far will he fall?” / “Total steal if he gets to the third round” type articles. Because he was not a major NFL talent.

Shaw was impressed, and has described Rolle’s abilities as “comparable to any defensive back that plays on Sundays. His athleticism, mental toughness and knowledge of professional defensive schemes will assure him to be a success at the next level of competition.”


Rolle was a client of Shaw’s. True or not, this is exactly what I would expect him to say. As for knowledge of NFL defenses, I wonder from where that came? Rolle played on some of the worst defenses in Florida State history — defenses which were hardly complex in any way. And he never showed football instincts like those of NFL defensive backs.

Going into the 2010 draft, Rolle still impressed scouts with his size and strength for a safety (6’2, 215 pounds, 21 reps on the bench press at the combine.) A 40-yard dash time of just 4.76 seconds was worrisome, but his times in private workouts (as low as 4.54) were more representative of those from his college days.


So he runs a 40-yard time that is nothing close to what elite NFL defensive backs run, and he is very stiff as a player, who is position limited due to that lack of overall athleticism for his position, yet isn’t a great fit at another position. That doesn’t sound like a first round prospect. I’m aware that he ran a better 40-yard time in private workouts, as the story indicated, but almost every player runs faster in their private workouts on a friendly surface. 4.76 is a flat out bad time.

One could have either football, or a life without the game, not both.


Rolle has the life with the game in college, because he was good enough to be an above-average (not special or even great) college player on some bad defenses. If he had legitimate talent to start for NFL teams, there is every reason to believe he could have the life again in the NFL.

After spending a year on the practice squad, the Titans cut Rolle prior to the 2011 season. He was then picked up by the Steelers on a futures contract, and cut again before the start of the 2012 season. For all of his football instincts, near-flawless character traits, and a lifetime preparing to be the best athlete he can be, Rolle retired from professional football without appearing in a regular-season game.


Practice squad — Rolle was stuck on the practice squad of a 6-10 Tennessee Titans team. If Rolle was some special player, or even a good pro, wouldn’t he have been used to help a team with a record as bad as 6-10? And he was cut before the 2011 season? Maybe he was given the benefit of the doubt after having a year off from football, but the Titans decided to cut bait. If Rolle was showing major promise, he’s probably not being cut from the practice squad of a bad team.

The “football instincts” referenced were never apparent. He was not an instinctive football player. That was not a strength, but a weakness.

This is what makes the mystery of Rolle’s NFL short career so agonizing. … But we can also lament what might have been.
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But it’s even bigger than that. Rolle’s case illuminates how archaic and dehumanizing the NFL’s narrow conception of what makes a good player can be, how it forces unique people into rigid stereotypes and makes life-changing judgments about those who are different.

It would have been awesome if Rolle had the unique skills required to be a starter in the NFL at safety and to become a great medical professional. Alas, it seems he has one of those skill sets, and came up just short on the other, which is still a set of skills greater than almost everyone out there.

As an FSU grad I am proud of Myron Rolle. His work on health care for underprivileged children in developing nations is awesome. I just disagree with the idea that the NFL is ignored a high caliber player due to his intelligence and vast array of career goals, or that the player was Myron Rolle.

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Same thing with Michael Sam. While many teams might be hesitant to select him bacause of the media circus it will bring, if the guy is a playmaker on Sundays he'll have a job and the respect of his teammates. PERIOD!

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This is the biggest myth that is played up by certain talking heads.

Also, I doubt there was more than one kid at his high school who was picked up in a Bentley.