The St. Louis Rams waived Michael Sam on Saturday, ending the former Missouri standout's bid to become the first openly gay player to play in an official NFL game.
Sam, who was picked in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft, almost made it into the roster, but the Rams opted to go with another rookie defensive lineman in Ethan Westbrook.
Sam accepted the Rams' decision to waive him on Saturday, thanking the team for giving him an opportunity to compete for a roster spot, while also adding the he will continue to work hard to reach his goal.
"I want to thank the entire Rams organization and the city of St. Louis for giving me this tremendous opportunity and allowing me to show I can play at this level," Sam posted on Twitter. "I look forward to continuing to build on the progress I made here toward a long and successful career. The most worthwhile things in life rarely come easy, this is a lesson I've always known. The journey continues."
Sam will be on waivers until Sunday afternoon, and if no team claims him, the 24-year-old will be free to sign with any practice squad, creating speculations that he could eventually find himself back to St. Louis.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher did not reveal, though, whether or not they are planning to sign Sam to their practice squad, but he reiterated that the rookie defensive end did a lot of positive things since the training camp started.
"I will tell you this: I was pulling for Mike," Fisher said via ESPN. "I really was, and I don't say that very often. Mike came in here and did everything we asked him to do."
Fisher reiterated that he sees no reason for team to hesitate in giving Sam a chance to crack their roster, uttering nothing but praises for the Galveston, Texas native.
"There's no challenge with respect to Mike Sam," Fisher said via Los Angeles Times. "He's not about drawing attention to himself. He kept his head down and worked and you can't ask anything more out of any player for that matter."
Sam was solid in the Rams' preseason matches where he tallied 11 tackles and three sacks, including two against Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel in their preseason match on August 23.
The Rams, who went 1-3 in their preseason schedule, will open their campaign in the 2014 NFL season on September 7 against the Minnesota Vikings at the Edward Jones Dome.
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