Brock Lesnar might be more famous for his time in the WWE and the UFC, but he could very well have added another sport to his resumé back in 2004.
When you look at Brock Lesnar as a human being and as a specimen, you can tell that he is a man who certainly has the physical capabilities to play any sport that he wants, and even if it needs a little bit of work to get himself into a certain physical state, he’s going to do that.
And that is exactly what happened to him back in 2004 when he packed up his bags, left WWE and decided to try his hand at playing in the NFL. He hadn’t played since high school which was back in 1995, so he was away from the gridiron for a good spell, but when you’re built like Lesnar, at least you’ve got the physical requirements out of the way.
But things didn’t exactly turn out well for him in the end, and it all arguably came down to one freak accident.
What happened?
Before Lesnar didn’t cut corners during his return to the football field, taking part in the league’s combine, but it was involved in an accident on his motorcycle shortly after that greatly affected his condition as the serious part of the comeback began and he tried out for numerous teams.
He was eventually signed by the Minnesota Vikings, fitting as that was the team in the city that he went to college at the University of Minnesota where he began his wrestling career, and they certainly gave him every chance that they could in order to make it for them.
But as the footage shows, he didn’t exactly light things up when he put on the helmet and pads.
Giving it his best shot
Lesnar put up a less than impressive showing during his stint in preseason with the Vikings, perhaps as a result of the injuries he sustained, perhaps because he was so rusty after the years being away from the football field, but he was largely pushed around and showed up by the actual football players when he did manage to make it onto the turf:
Did you know @BrockLesnar once made a tackle in a preseason game for the @Vikings? (Aug. 27, 2004) #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/GeIUPzn07Q
— NFL Throwback (@nflthrowback) April 4, 2020
He did last all the way through to the final cut down stage, so the Vikings clearly thought he had something in him (or if you’re cynical, you can say they wanted to carry on the publicity stunt a little bit more), but at least you can’t say they didn’t give him the opportunity to make it.
