Rams Player Got A Face Tattoo To Inspire Him To Make An NFL Roster
By Daniel
In one of the more bizarre motivational tactics ever concocted Ethan Westbrooks, a St. Louis Rams rookie defensive end, tattooed his face in order to motivate himself to make it in the NFL.
The funny part is that it actually worked.
May 16, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks (62) during rookie minicamp at Rams Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Not only did he get past the Rams’ final cut making the 53-man roster, he beat out a pretty famous player on along the way. That player is Michael Sam, the first openly-gay player to be drafted into the NFL.
His play all summer impressed the coaches and his play in the preseason games secured his spot — tattoo and all.
In an interview with Nick Wagoner of ESPN Westbrooks said,
"‘I was just like I might as well go ahead and get it on the face because if nothing else, it will help motivate me to either be a guy that has a tattoo on his face looking for another job or hopefully I make it in the NFL and don’t have to work too hard to do something (else),’ Westbrooks said. ‘I don’t feel it’s a bad thing now. I don’t regret it. It speaks for itself.’"
It’s absolutely ridiculous, but then again he made the team. So whatever works right?
The Rams are deep at defensive line as it’s one of the strengths of their team, which makes it even more impressive that Westbrooks secured a roster spot. Especially because he was an undrafted free agent out of West Texas A&M.
Apparently he was working at a Toys “R” Us at the time that he made the decision to permanently alter his face. Which really was his first step toward an NFL career. The phrase ‘all or nothing’ really applies here, but you have to hand it to him. He’s not just some guy with a face tattoo, he’s an NFL player with a face tattoo.
That’s a pretty big difference.