Training camp is hard. Very hard. We know this because some of the most well-conditioned, fearsome athletes quit the sport because it's so hard.
The latest player to go AWOL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Jayme Mitchell. He left the team not just because training camp is a grind but because he was unhappy with his role.
Mitchell believed he'd compete to start at defensive end. Instead, he was stuck on the third team and playing some defensive tackle.
"He just felt like he was told one thing, but the team did another," Mitchell's agent, Lamont Smith, told Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times. "That's his position."
Agent translation: I can't believe my client did this. This won't help his chances of ever working again.
"He expressed some concerns about some things (on Tuesday), and I asked him to stick it out a little longer. Camp is long and hard," Smith said. "But he still felt this is what he wanted to do. He spoke with his position coach, and I told him he should still have a conversation with (general manager) Mark Dominik. Well, he attempted to do that. I'll leave it at that."
Mitchell is a 28-year-old late bloomer who emerged as a starter with the Cleveland Browns last season. But he was ineffective, and the Browns let him go. It wouldn't be a surprise if Mitchell walked out of his last chance for a job in the NFL.
