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Herschel Walker is without a doubt one of the greatest football players of all time. As is the case with most all-time greats, Walker is extremely confident about his own abilities, despite the fact he’s now 53 years old and hasn’t played a snap in the NFL in 15 years.
“There is not a doubt in my mind, if I played today, I (could) contribute to a team,” the former star running back said on WFAN’s “Boomer & Carton Show” last Thursday. “Let me tell you the reason why,” he continued. “Running backs today don’t play every play. They only play, like, a couple of plays and they go out the game.”
Walker went on to say that he ran a 4.3 40-yard dash about a year ago. He’s been competing in MMA since 2010 and says the only reason he hasn’t made a comeback to the NFL is because he’s been too involved with MMA.
The chance of a team letting Walker attempt a comeback seemed extremely unlikely until Tuesday. According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Falcons first-year head coach Dan Quinn extended a training camp invite to Walker on Tuesday.
When asked if the team had a spot open for Walker, Quinn said, “Yes. He’s one of my all-time favorite players. Yeah, we have room for him.”
“For him, the legacy he left at Georgia… He’d definitely fit in great for a competitive standpoint.”
It still seems unlikely Walker ever actually suits up for another NFL team, but I think it’s safe to say we are all rooting for it to happen.
