People Actually Taking This LeBron Playing Football Thing Seriously For Some Reason

LeBron James, a former standout high school receiver and current NBA wunderkind, has long hinted at his desire to get back on the football field. A State Farm ad campaign even had him in full Browns gear dominating the gridiron as though it were nothing. That must have gotten people's imaginations working. Sorry, though, it ain't happening. The overlapping seasons wouldn't allow it, nor would the week-to-week punishment James would get from two contact sports.

That didn't stop LeBron from teasing the prospect again this week saying he could be of help to the woeful Browns. Coach Eric Mangini and quarterback Brady Quinn ran with the statement and bade the basketball superstar to come on down and try his hand at the game he left behind, which must have made current Browns tight end Robert Royal feel wonderful about himself, seeing as how someone of LeBron's size and speed is practically tailor-made for that position (also because of his previous pass catching experience).

But not everyone was so welcome to the idea. Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rogers bristled at the notion that James could simply stroll onto the field and excel so easily. Though he did concede that with a year of preparation that Bron-Bron could be a solid player.

Jeremy Shockey, however, was not so lenient. On his Twitter page, he ranted "everyone trust me Lebron James could not play in the NFL! espn is crazy to even think he could even make a practice squad. hes a 4.9 40 time". It's not entirely clear where Shockey turned up that stat about LeBron's 40-time, as unless he's privy to a secret list of athlete speed that the public is not, he might just be speculating. Still, even if Shockey were correct, 4.9 wouldn't necessarily rule LeBron out as a tight end. The Lions Brandon Pettigrew ran a 4.83 at the combine and he was the 20th pick in this year's draft. Giants receiver Steve Smith was a little more optimistic than Shockey: "Thoughts on lebron playing football? I kno i wouldnt wanna have to defend against that athletic freak of nature!!"

So even though this clearly will never happen, at least the idea of LeBron stealing what dwindling remaining amounts of his thunder gives Jeremy Shockey something to get worked up about. And it had been a month or so since that happened.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.