“I Felt Like I Failed”: Ex-Pittsburgh Steelers Safety Recalls Getting Cut From Franchise and ‘Letting People Down’ Before Becoming a Successful Neurosurgeon

Myron Rolle was just in his mid-20s when he realised that his NFL dream was ending. The ex-NFL safety was cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad in 2012.

He managed to pick himself up and say goodbye to the NFL by transitioning into neurosurgery. But how would it have felt to see your dream end?

Rolle’s last day in NFL

In a recent interview, Myron Rolle, who is a successful neurosurgeon these days, recalled the day he was told that he was being released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“When I got released from the Pittsburgh Steelers, they flat out told me, “Your talent is there.” I said, “Well, OK, why are you about to release me?” They said, “Well, because there’s a guy that’s not as talented as you, but this is all he has,” Rolle said in the interview, adding that he was told the guy who would get the opportunity has nothing in his life but football.

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“You, I’m not worried about you. You can go be president one day, you can go be a doctor, you’re going to be great,” Rolle said he was told.

“It was the most frustrated I’ve been in my life, the most disappointed I’ve been in my life, the most downtrodden I’ve been in my life. The time where I felt like I failed and I let people down,” the NFL safety turned Neurosurgeon said.

The Myron Rolle story

Myron Rolle is currently a Neurosurgery Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. But the 6’1″ Florida State alumni was one of the brightest prospects of his time. Most fans at that time felt he would have a dream career in the NFL.

Rolle did manage to live his dream, although for a short while. He was picked up by the Tennessee Titans as a safety in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft. Rolle went on to sign a four-year contract with the Titans. He did not feature in the league for the team. He left the Titans after the 2011 season to join the Pittsburgh Steelers. There too he remained a member of the practice squad in the 2012 season without making a single appearance in the league. And then came the fateful day when he was told his time was up.

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He then decided to pursue a career in medical sciences and left the NFL in 2013. He got himself enrolled in the Florida State University College of Medicine. The rest, as they say, is history