Anthony Walker plays in the NFL. He spent the last month in the NBA.
The Indianapolis Colts linebacker started his offseason by spending four weeks as an intern with the Miami Heat
Giovani Bernard Jersey , getting a crash course on how the basketball team from his hometown handles things from a business operations standpoint. The Heat exposed Walker to plenty, including how game nights work and the execution of off-site events.
”For me, it’s about trying to get the other side of sports,” Walker said . ”Football’s going to end for me at some point. I want to be able to use the networks I have now to help me in the future for when I do need to find something else to do with my life. And you never know when that’s going to come.”
The internship ended Friday. Walker is planning to be back in Indianapolis, ready to resume full-time football life in a few days.
He hopes football doesn’t end anytime soon. Walker just completed his rookie season with the Colts, appearing in 10 games – two starts – and making 22 tackles.
But Walker, 22, is also thinking about his future. That’s why he asked Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn for a favor.
Quinn was briefly an assistant coach at Northwestern, where Walker – who studied business management with a focus on sports, as well as marketing – played his college football. Quinn knew of Walker’s reputation from their simultaneous time with the Wildcats
Jake Fisher Jersey , and didn’t hesitate when asked to help broker something for him to do with the Heat.
”I knew he was a high-quality kid,” Quinn said. ”Anyone in his position, a current NFL player, to reach out and request an opportunity, that means he’s very driven and about the right kind of stuff. So I had no problem trying to help him in any way I could.”
Quinn passed Walker’s name up the Heat chain, and the internship deal was struck. Walker knows the experience will help him in his next career, but also sees ways it will make him better as a player.
”You see all the aspects of the game and all the outside stuff that we don’t get to see as athletes,” Walker said. ”We think we do our job and everything else just falls in place. But there’s a lot that goes into those other jobs, marketing, the equipment guys
Tyler Kroft Jersey , all that stuff. You can’t take any of that for granted.”
In the end, both Walker and the Heat considered his time there a success.
”He did a really good job,” Quinn said. ”He took everything really seriously, which is awesome.”
Free agent cornerback Vontae Davis has met with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders about upgrading their secondaries.
A person familiar with Davis’ plans says he met with the Raiders on Wednesday after meeting with 49ers the previous day. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the meetings were not made public. Davis has also reportedly met with Cleveland and Buffalo
Davis is a two-time Pro Bowler who is on the open market after being released by Indianapolis last November. Because he was cut, Davis can sign with a team immediately instead of waiting for the start of the new league year next month.
Article continues below ...
Davis lost his starting job midway through last season and then did not travel with the team for a game in Houston for ”non-injury” reasons. Davis was then cut a few days later.
Davis said before the release that he had been hampered all season by a torn groin suffered in the third preseason game but the Colts said they were unaware of lingering problems from the injury.
Opposing quarterbacks had a 79.5 passer rating when targeting Davis in 2015-16, according to SportRadar. But he struggled last season, allowing a 105.7 rating.
Davis spent his first three seasons with Miami after being a first-round pick in 2009. He was traded to the Colts before the 2012 season and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2014 and `15.
Davis has 22 career interceptions with 97 passes defensed and two sacks.
The Raiders and 49ers are both in need of upgrades at cornerback. San Francisco could lose starter Dontae Johnson in free agency next month after having traded Rashard Robinson during the season. The only cornerbacks under contract who played more than a handful of snaps last season are 2017 third-round pick Ahkello Witherspoon and slot cornerback K’Waun Williams.
Oakland released starter David Amerson earlier this month and could also cut starter Sean Smith in order to create more salary cap room. Slot cornerback TJ Carrie is eligible to be a free agent, leaving last year’s first-round pick Gareon Conley as the only projected starter currently under contract. C0nley played just two games as a rookie because of injuries.
—
Konu Seçenekleri
