Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL, has been cut from the St. Louis Rams ahead of the regular season.
The defensive end officially hit waivers on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST after losing his spot on the 53-man roster to undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrook. The rest of the teams in the league will have 24 hours to pick up Sam.
After the decision came down, Sam took to Twitter to make a statement about the cut.
“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,” he wrote. “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.”
The Rams have expressed interest in having Sam return to their 10-man practice squad, but Sam is not expect to settle for that option. Many believe he will land on his feet soon.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Sam was drafted with the 249th overall pick in the seventh round of the NFL draft.