The Philadelphia Eagles signed Canadian rugby star Adam Zaruba to a three-year deal, the team announced on Monday.
Roster Move: #Eagles sign TE Adam Zaruba to a three-year contract. pic.twitter.com/IOLWuXwAFF
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 24, 2017
The 26-year old is listed as a tight end on the team's website and had a workout for the team a few days ago according to The Vancouver Sun.
According to that same site, Zaruba didn't think about a potential career in the NFL until earlier in the offseason:
He played football in high school at Carson Graham and then was recruited to play at SFU but to put it in his words, “it didn’t work out.” He redshirted for a year for the Clan, didn’t play for his second, was ineligible for his third.
Eventually he found his way to rugby, was quickly spotted by the rugby sevens staff at Rugby Canada as a prospect and by 2014 was a full-time member of the national squad.
Fast-forward three years, and he’s made a name for himself on the international rugby stage. Now it’s time for a new big stage.“It will be a really awesome thing for me as an athlete,” he said before flying out to Philadelphia on Friday.
“The window here is very small.”
After his World Rugby Sevens Series season came to an end in May, Zaruba got a call from a South African rugby agent who was developing contacts in the NFL.
Zaruba is listed at 6-5, 265 pounds.
