Danny Amendola has quite the football résumé, but his road to NFL success was far from a walk in the park.
After going undrafted in 2008, Amendola spent the next two seasons on the Dallas Cowboys’ and Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squads, respectively. The speedy wideout eventually got his big break with the then-St. Louis Rams before joining the New England Patriots, with whom he won two Super Bowls.
Ahead of his 10th season in the league, Amendola decided to pay it forward to the newest wave of undrafted free agents in an essay for The Players’ Tribune. The 32-year-old certainly didn’t pull punches as he explained the amount of work and dedication required to be a successful NFL player.
“This process though, it’s going to test your love of football,” Amendola writes. “You won’t feel like part of the team, but your body is still going to take a beating. When I was on the practice squad, it felt like I was just a guy who came in off the street three days a week to help actual NFL players get better. It was unsettling, unfulfilling and there were a few times when I wondered whether I would get my shot. But I kept showing up and kept competing. I was too stubborn to stop believing in myself. And I think that as much as anything is what got me to where I am today.”
It’s important for any young player to have quality role models upon entering the league, and Amendola certainly is one of them.
