The Cleveland Browns have signed Marcus Santos-Silva out of Texas Tech.
Santos-Silva is a basketball player who did not play college football.
#Browns have signed Marcus Santos-Silva…who has never played college football before.
— Brad Stainbrook (@StainbrookNFL) May 2, 2022
He is 6’6″ tall and weighs 261 pounds.
Santos-Silva will compete as a tight end.
Exclusive look at Marcus Santos-Silva showing off his pass catching ability. pic.twitter.com/wNB6ro6KVO
— Nathan Giese (@NathanGiese) April 25, 2022
Preliminary comparisons link him to Antonio Gates who never played college football but managed a fine NFL career as a tight end.
Jimmy Graham, Tony Gonzalez, and most recently Mo Alie-Cox followed a similar blueprint before launching successful NFL careers as tight ends.
About Santos-Silva
He started his college career at VCU but transferred to Texas Tech for his final two seasons of eligibility.
Santos-Silva earned an All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2022.
He concludes his college career with 1,244 points, 957 rebounds, and 61 blocked shots.
Not Completely Out Of The Norm To Switch Sports
Besides the tight ends mentioned above, another notable athlete switched sports and won a Super Bowl as a result.
Renaldo Nehemiah, nicknamed “Skeets” as a baby for being a fast crawler, moved from the track to the football field.
Skeets Nehemiah, 1982. pic.twitter.com/izCmaPnOnF
— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) August 20, 2020
Skeets was a world-class hurdler whose Olympic opportunity would have been in 1980, but the US boycotted the Games.
Loved the Renaldo “Skeets” Nehemiah reference by Cris Collinsworth. He was a track star that ended up as a receiver for the #49ers. He had wheels. #PHIvsSF pic.twitter.com/VTD4Rr0JZQ
— Derek Jones (@DerekJones79) October 5, 2020
He was a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers during their 1984 championship season.
Will He Be A Camp Body?
#Browns Twitter speculates that he is a camp body that will compete in the spring and summer but won’t likely be on the 53-man roster in the fall.
It is way too early to make that assessment.
Santos-Silva is obviously a premier athlete who has the mental and physical abilities to compete in any sport he puts his mind and heart into.
Keeping McCartney Busy
Ironically the Browns have a new tight ends coach for 2022.
Browns moving asst coach Drew Petzing from TE to QB coach & asst TC McCartney to TE. Also some other in-staff promotions.
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) February 25, 2022
T.C. McCartney spent the last two seasons as an offensive assistant before being promoted to tight ends coach.
This will be an interesting developmental project for McCartney in his new role.
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