There has been plenty of debate recently whether NBA players can play in the NFL, and vice versa, but what about lacrosse players? The Buffalo Bills are dipping into the professional lacrosse pool, as they have invited Zed Williams to rookie minicamp and try out as a linebacker, per the Bills’ official website.
Williams is a native of Irving, NY, and played four seasons with the Maryland Whipsnakes of the Premier Lacrosse League. The Whipsnakes won a championship with Williams in 2020, while he won MVP of the league. Williams also played in the National Lacrosse League for the Colorado Mammoth, and won a title with the squad in 2022.
Williams is hardly the first lacrosse player to dabble in the NFL. Back in 2022, the Denver Broncos hosted former Maryland lacrosse star Jared Bernhardt on a top-30 visit prior to the draft. Bernhardt served as a graduate transfer quarterback for Ferris State in 2021, leading the Bulldogs to an undefeated record and the program’s first Division II national championship. He went undrafted in the NFL, but was signed by the Atlanta Falcons. In the preseason that year, he caught a game-winning touchdown, and eventually earned a spot on the 53-man roster. Bernhardt played in two games, but retired from the NFL the following year.
Bernhardt isn’t the only one, either, as former New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan, who caught six passes for 128 yards and a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII, opted for professional lacrosse after his NFL days, while Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown is also in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
