The Lions made an out of the box move Thursday signing Carlin Isles to the team’s practice squad.
I know right? Who the hell is Carlin Isles? Well he’s dubbed the ‘fastest rugby player in the world’ which may in fact be the case after running a 4.22 40 yard dash for the Lions on Monday.
“He’s got great speed,” coach Jim Schwartz said Wednesday. “That’s probably the biggest thing. He’s a legit track guy. His background happened to be rugby, but it’s probably more track.” (via the Detroit News)
Apparently Isles also draws comparisons to Denver’s Trindon Holliday but like always Schwartz didn’t want to get into comparisons.
“I don’t want to compare the two, but if you want to develop one of those guys, you have to give some guys a chance here and there,” Schwartz said. “You know, Indianapolis has a rugby guy (Daniel Adongo). He’s a pass rusher. I know San Francisco brought in a guy that was a shot putter or discus guy (Lawrence Okoye).
“I mean, you’re looking for athletes. It hasn’t been unusual to see basketball guys to the NFL. That’s not just recently. That goes way back, even track guys like Bob Hayes and Renaldo Nehemiah. An athlete is an athlete. There are skills you can develop. If you see something you like, you can work with him.”
Also it’s not clear how the Lions will use him. I’m guessing at this point if he makes it to the main roster they’ll investigate how Alabama used Forrest Gump.
h/t: Detroit News, Pro Football Talk