Canadian rugby star Adam Zaruba has officially signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The six-foot-five, 260-pounder was in Philadelphia on Sunday for a tryout and impressed the Eagles brass enough to earn a professional contract as a tight end.
The North Vancouver, B.C. product has been a full-time member of the Canada Sevens national rugby squad since 2014. The team wrapped up their season in May with a bronze medal finish at the World Rugby Sevens Series in London.
You may remember Zaruba, from this spectacular one-hand catch of a kick-off last year in a match against Wales during the Paris 7s.
Zaruba played high school football for the Carson Graham Eagles. He enrolled into Simon Fraser University to play on their varsity team, but only redshirted in his freshmen season and eventually shifted his focus back to rugby because “it didn’t work out,” according to Patrick Johnston of The Province.
Signing a contract is one-thing, but actually sticking with the big club will be an entirely different scenario. Zaruba had been working with the UBC Thunderbirds football program on sharpening up his football skills, and based off this video, his athleticism is quite evident.
According to Zaruba, he ran the 60-yard dash in 4.49 seconds just under a month ago, via his own Instagram account.
To put that into perspective, that time would’ve been the second-best among tight ends at the 2017 NFL Combine.
The Eagles opened up training camp today, with quarterbacks, rookies and selected veterans reporting.
Zaruba is currently waiting to get his work visa in check, so he’s unable to officially join the team in camp for the time being. He became the 90th player in Eagles camp, which is the maximum allowed for NFL training camps. Philadelphia has six tight ends vying for spots, although Zaruba’s stature could give him an edge, as he’s biggest one of the bunch.
In 2015, Jarryd Hayne successfully made the transition from rugby to football. He made the San Fransico 49ers 53-man roster as a running back before retiring from the gridiron and returning to his natural sport of rugby. Nate Ebner, a former U.S National team member, earned a spot with the the New England Patriots in 2012, and was a second-team All-Pro last season playing on their special teams unit.
There’s no doubt that Zaruba will be in tough to make official roster, which will be finalized prior to Week 1 of the season. If Zaruba can’t lock down a position as a tight-end, perhaps a role in special teams might be a more attainable option.
It’s quite remarkable for him to even earn a contract from an NFL team after transitioning over from rugby. However, with NFL contracts not being guaranteed, he can be cut at anytime. It’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts to the highest level of sport he hasn’t played in for a considerable amount of time.
If he’s released by the Eagles, he could end up in the Canadian Football League; the Saskatchewan Roughriders own his CFL rights.
(H/T Patrick Johnston of The Province)
