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Canadian sevens star Adam Zaruba has signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. The news was announced by the franchise on Monday afternoon following a tryout over the weekend.
At 1.96m (6’5″) and 118kg (260lbs), the North Vancouver native has caught the eye in the HSBC Sevens Series with impressive athleticism. His stunning one-handed grab from a kickoff at the 2016 Paris tournament was an internet sensation and evidently did not go unnoticed by professional football scouts.
While it’s rugby where the Capilano product has found his greatest success thus far, he will not be entirely new to gridiron. Zaruba played high school football for Carson Graham and was a redshirt at Simon Fraser University before switching his focus to rugby. His combination of size and speed makes him ideal for the tight end position, though there is some suggestion he could also be trialed as a fullback.
Zaruba departs the HSBC circuit with the blessing of head coach Damian McGrath, though the door is certainly not closed on a potential return to rugby. The new contract can end at any time and the Eagles must pare their roster down to 53 from 90 in time for the regular season that kicks off on September 7. An additional five players may be retained on the practice roster.
Should his NFL quest ultimately fall short there is also an opportunity in the CFL where his contract rights are owned by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
In recent months two other North American internationals have tried their hands at professional football contracts. Canadian outside back Jordan Wilson-Ross was signed to the Roughriders practice roster in October of last year, and US Eagles lock Ben Landry spent several months in search of an NFL deal with the Seattle Seahawks. Both have since returned to rugby.
On the other side of the coin Roughriders defensive back Tevaughn Campbell traveled with the Canadian team to Hong Kong earlier this year before returning to his CFL duties.
