Philadelphia Eagles Sign Olympic Hurdler to Play Wide Receiver For 2022 Season

The National football league is a place for emerging talents. Double Olympian, Devon Allen, who represents Team USA in the men’s hurdles gets a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Allen is a former pro footballer, who played for the University of Oregon in the wide receiver position.

It was a great Friday morning for the Olympian to sign a contract and pursue his long-time dream of an NFL career. He is one of the ace hurdlers representing the USA in the Olympics. It is to be noted that Allen is not the first athlete in American history to switch their career to the pro football league.

Devon Allen signs a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles

The 27-year-old athlete from Phoenix, Arizona, was a promising wide receiver for the University of Oregon. However, Allen hasn’t played football since 2016, after he played for the Ducks University team. He put up his football dreams on hold and went to pursue a career in track and field. Allen represented team USA twice in the past two Olympic seasons, finishing in the top five in the 110-meter hurdles.

He missed an Olympic title by just one place in Tokyo last summer. Allen clinched the 5th position for his performance at the Rio Olympics. On Friday, Allen took part in Oregon’s Pro Day and was officially timed at 4.35sec in the 40-yard dash. With his blazing speed and flexibility, the former wideout impressed the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff and was offered a three-year deal by the franchise.

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During his tenure at Oregon, Allen caught 54 passes for 919 yards and eight touchdowns in 29 games. He made big impressions playing for the University, being rated a four-star recruit from high school. However, the receiver always struggled with sustaining injuries in the past. In 2014, Allen suffered from a knee injury during the opening kick-off of the Rose Bowl.

Despite all these setbacks, Allen told the reporters that he wanted to pursue his NFL dream before he was too old to give it a go. “It’s now or never because I don’t want to get too old,” he said. “I don’t want to turn 30, 31, and then try and get into the NFL. I know the skill gap is still there from college to the NFL. But I think when I did play college and when I did play at a pretty good level, I would consider myself talented enough to play in the NFL,” Allen added to his speech.

Players who switched sides from athletics to pursue their dream in NFL

Allen is the latest member joining the club of athletes who have their past careers in the field and track. Willie Gault, a member of the team USA that set a world 4x100m record of 37.86sec at the inaugural World Athletics Championships in 1983, spent 11 seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver. Gault marked his beginning with the Chicago Bears and played for their 1985 Super Bowl-winning team.

Bob Hayes, the Tokyo 1964 Olympic 100m champion and world record holder, played as a wide receiver for NFL side Dallas Cowboys and helped the team win in Super Bowl VI. Having an impeccable career in athletics. And past experiences as a wide receiver, it won’t be difficult for Allen to settle in the atmosphere of the league.

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