The Washington Football Team drafted Bryce Love in 2019 and selected a fourth round for the Stanford running back who had a torn ACL in his last college game.
Monday Washington renounces love after failing to record an NFL uniform in two seasons.
The hope in Washington was that Love could spend a year recovering from the devastating injury and contribute his second season. But he did not play a single turn in 2020, and a Ron Rivera regime that Love did not set up cut ties with him on Monday.
A warning story
The deal is a disappointing point for the standout at Stanford, who finished second in the Heisman Trophy vote and won the Doak Walker Award for top-ranked college football in 2017 as a junior.
At age 23, Love now faces the decision to try another franchise or give up his NFL dreams. Either way, his story is a warning story for NFL prospects on the fence to explain early for the draft or to consider putting out games at the end of their college careers.
Why Love returned to Stanford with his draft inventory at its peak
Love was considered one of the top NFL prospects ahead of the 2018 draft after its junior campaign. In 2017, he recorded 2118 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns at a whopping 8.1 yards per carry, topping him at the top of the Pac-12 and national award lists.
Instead of explaining for the concept, Love returned for his senior season with his eyes on Stanford glory and 2,000-yard back-to-back campaigns.
“I could not leave without once again trying to achieve everything my teammates and I dreamed of – winning the Pac-12 North, Conference Championship and a National Championship,” the North Carolina native said. a 2018 News & Observer essay explaining her decision to return. ‘In short, I have unfinished business in Stanford. It’s more than anything that persuaded me to stay. ‘
Great expectations come up painfully short
While playing behind an injured and inferior attacking line, Love’s production dropped to 739 rushing yards at 4.5 yards per carry as a senior. On his last college series in Stanford’s final season against California, Love tore his right ACL. Stanford did not compete for a national championship or a conference title. His 9-4 finish was good for third place in the Pac-12.
Love’s draft inventory obviously got a hit. But Washington saw enough promise in that junior season to overlook the ACL injury once Love fell to the fourth round. That trust fell without ceremony on Monday.
The big shiny side for Love
There is a significant silver lining for Love when he decides to name it on football. His backup plan is probably better than the original. The benefit of the love that returned for his senior season was to earn a human biology degree at a world-class university. As he wrote in the New & Observer essay, he intends to use it.
“The reality of sports, however, is that it all comes to an end, and that informed me of my decision to stay, too,” Love wrote. “It was a difficult transition – to start focusing my life after my playing days. As much as I want to play in the NFL, I’m also passionate about becoming a pediatrician – something I’ve wanted since my doctor diagnosed me with pneumonia. healed. When I was little. “
Enough would argue that Love, for the first time at 23-year-old medical school, is the best option to continue his body and brain by setting the tone for a professional football career. Love did not disclose his plans.
But most NFL prospects facing life decisions related to college football games do not have the prospect of a career in medicine in their back pocket. Love’s story is a reminder of the downside the next time a fanbase explodes a player for skipping a bowling game or declaring early for the NFL draft.
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