Did WWE megastar Roman Reigns play in the NFL?

Many WWE Superstars found themselves on different paths before turning to professional wrestling, with one of them being Roman Reigns. He is just one of the many football players turned wrestlers in the business, but one of the few who was signed to the big leagues.

Reigns' football run began when he was only in high school, spending three years at Pensacola Catholic High School and one year at Escambia High School. This continued in college at the Georgia Institute of Technology, playing as a member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets team. In 2006, he earned All-ACC first-team honors with 40 tackles, two recovered fumbles, and 4.5 sacks. Unfortunately, the following year wasn't as successful in the superstar's football career.

Roman Reigns went undrafted in the NFL in 2007. Although he eventually signed with the Minnesota Vikings in May of that same year, he was released later that month after being diagnosed with leukemia during the team's physical.

The Tribal Chief also signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in August of that same year, but he was released a week before the season began. Roman Reigns may never have played in the NFL, but he did play for in the CFL (Canadian Football League).

WWE

@WWE

Get ready for the #SuperBowl by checking out these pics of WWE Superstars (and an announcer!) in NFL uniforms.

First up, the Tribal Chief ... the Head of the Table ... the longest-reigning and defending #UniversalChampion ... @WWERomanReigns! (How'd we do, @HeymanHustle?)

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Get ready for the #SuperBowl by checking out these pics of WWE Superstars (and an announcer!) in NFL uniforms.

First up, the Tribal Chief ... the Head of the Table ... the longest-reigning and defending #UniversalChampion ... @WWERomanReigns! (How'd we do, @HeymanHustle?) https://t.co/nj52uFbqSC

In 2008, Edmonton Eskimos signed with the Samoan but he only played for one season featuring five games. Reigns then retired from professional football after he was released by the Eskimos in November of that same year.

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Roman Reigns calls his first fight with leukemia an "uphill battle"

The Head of the Table's battle with cancer is no secret to fans. In October 2018, he shared that his leukemia had returned, and had to step away from the company for a while. Fortunately, he returned to good health in February 2019.

Roman Reigns recalled the moment he was first diagnosed during an episode of Impaulsive with Logan Paul. The WWE star shared that he was overwhelmed and couldn't believe it at first, since he believed he was still quite young and at peak health.

"I compartmentalize emotions sometimes, so I think it was just so overwhelming that it wasn't even believable, (...) but back then a 21-year-old come straight out of college, a division one football player supposed to be kinda peak health right? You never would expect that. So it put a huge asterisk next to my name when it came to the NFL. So it was just an uphill battle from there man."

Roman Reigns

@WWERomanReigns

I joined forces with @LLSusa on their podcast “Bloodline with LLS”. Listen in as I discuss with LLS’s CEO @LouisJDeGennaro on my blood cancer diagnosis, chronic myeloid #leukemia and more: thebloodline.org/TBL/e79/ #CMLday #CMLawareness

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I joined forces with @LLSusa on their podcast “Bloodline with LLS”. Listen in as I discuss with LLS’s CEO @LouisJDeGennaro on my blood cancer diagnosis, chronic myeloid #leukemia and more: thebloodline.org/TBL/e79/ #CMLday #CMLawareness https://t.co/A98d9x00z7

Although Roman Reigns' football career wasn't as successful as he hoped for, he has certainly found better success in WWE.

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