Link: Open Letter to an NFL Rookie
Ross Tucker writes a great open letter to rookies to let them know their place in an NFL locker room and practice field.
Be humble: You haven’t done anything in pro football. The other players in the locker room don’t care how great you were in college. So were they and it means nothing now. You are going to be judged exclusively by what you do from this day forward, so give your All-America plaque to your mom and get to work. Unless you were drafted in the first three rounds and have a roster spot virtually locked up, you are lower on the totem pole than a freshman in college. They, at least, are on scholarship.
It only gets better from there, but it definitely puts you in the mind of how a veteran NFL player likely sees these younger guys on the roster.
Thanks to sjfalcon2001 for sending this on …
Nice letter that – there might be a few more productive rookies if they all followed that approach!
In this video featuring Darelle Revis – Is it me or does it sound like he already knows that Sanchez will be our day 1 starter?
http://www.nfl.com/videos/new-york-jets/09000d5d81010cfb/Revis-on-set
Great, GReat, GREAT article. This is great advise not only for rookies, but for today’s generation in general. Starting with lots of today’s pop music.
I read all of Tucker’s stuff. He is always informative and having been a player, I love his inside perspective.
Roger Goodell should send this letter to every rookie. Tucker tells it like it is. It also shows why we need a rookie contract limit. I can understand why a 10 year veteran who is a star but had to fight for every contract because he was a UDFA or drafted in the later rounds would be upset with a rookie player making 3 times their salary without playing a snap.