Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is speaking out this week to claim that he could turn the legendary NBA star LeBron James into the “greatest redzone threat in the NFL.”
Kelce Sounds Off On James
There is currently a debate over whether or not NFL and NBA players could immediately both play and succeed in their opposite sports.
This debate ensued after the NBA guard Austin Rivers’ claimed that 30 basketball professionals could play in the NFL. ESPN sports analyst Ryan Clark fired back by pointing out that the NBA star Draymond Green attempted to play in a Michigan State spring football game in 2011, and that didn’t go well for him.
Kelce responded to Clark’s post on social media, claiming that he believes that he could turn LeBron James into a major NFL threat if he had the chance to do so.
“I love this argument and passion from Ryan, and as a football player my mind is screaming hell yea!!!” Kelce wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“But, if I was an NFL GM, and it was an option, I’d sign Lebron today and within one offseason he’d be the greatest redzone threat in the NFL,” he added.
Related: LeBron James Lays Into Refs With Expletive-Laced Rant, Walks Out Of Press Conference
James’ History With Football
Daily Mail reported that before making his NBA debut with the Cavaliers in 2003, James was an all-state wide receiver during his time attending St. Vincent–St. Mary High School. After that, however, he dropped football so that he could focus on basketball full-time.
Back in 2022, James shocked many of his fans when he admitted that he still has “an itch” to play in the NFL.
“If I was in the red zone, especially in the red zone. One-on-one… me out there with one of those small lil’ cornerbacks. Just throw it up, just throw it up,” James said at the time.
James’ NFL dreams came close to becoming a reality during the NBA lockout back in 2011. During this 161-day basketball sabbatical, both the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks offered James contracts to come play with them.
“Jerry Jones offered me a contract and so did Pete Carroll in Seattle during our lockout time,” James later confirmed, referring to the Cowboys owner and the Seahawks coach.
Related: LeBron James: I Should Have Been First Unanimous MVP
James Turns Down Offers
Though James was tempted to take one of the deals, things ended up working out with the NBA, so this never ended up coming to fruition.
“It definitely got my blood flowing again, my mind racing again thinking about the game of football, being out there on Sundays,” he continued. “We was able to get a deal done in the NBA and I was back on the court in no time. But I definitely thought about it.”
James has had such a legendary career in basketball that it’s difficult to imagine him playing any other sport. It would certainly be interesting to see how James would do in the NFL if he were ever to take up Kelce on his offer!
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