DOLPHINS’ 4,400-MILE ROAD TRIP
Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi, right, is all smiles after training at Allianz Park in London on Friday. The Dolphins will play the New Orleans Saints at Wembley Stadium at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. Ajayi, who was born in London, is a key figure in the NFL’s international marketing campaign. On 1C, Dave Hyde calls a timeout on trans-Atlantic trips.
LONDON — Jay Ajayi is the end game for the NFL’s international infatuation.
Over the past decade, the NFL has been increasing the number of games in London as American football’s invasion of Europe follows its meticulous plan.
The goal of the International Series, which features five games this year (four in London), isn’t just to enhance the NFL’s brand, merchandising and outreach.
The hope is that exposing Europe to American football will produce more players like Ajayi, whom the league used as the face of the NFL International Series this year.
Ajayi, who was born in London but raised in Texas, is the closest thing to an NFL star the United Kingdom has. Twitter has even produced a special emoji for the tailback ahead of Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints — available with hashtag JayTrain.
New Era went as far as giving Ajayi his own line of International caps.
But even Ajayi openly admits that if he grew up in London, he’d probably be using his fancy footwork to play soccer, his favorite sport, and not football.
“I was introduced to American football in Texas and that was my whole showcase to the love of the game. Up until that point, all I really knew was soccer football,” said Ajayi, who moved to the United States at age 7 and played high school football in Frisco, Texas, before starring at Boise State. “I probably would have been chasing that Arsenal shirt, trying to get on their [team].”
After the breakout season Ajayi had last year, which led to him to the Pro Bowl after rushing for 1,272 bruising yards and scoring eight touchdowns, he realizes he’s a role model for many European youngsters trying American football.
There have been several British-born players in the NFL, including former standout pass rusher Osi Umenyiora, offensive tackle Menelik Watson and former kicker Michael Luckhurst. However, Ajayi is the first successful at a skill position.
And he hopes his success will lead to many more, like receiver Moritz Boehringer, a German who fell in love with football watching Adrian Peterson highlights and was drafted in the sixth round by the Minnesota Vikings last year. While Bohringer isn’t on an NFL roster after being cut last month, his transformation showed the world that the door to the NFL is open.
Ajayi hopes to the be the player that kicks it down.
“I won’t lie, it’s a special game for me,” Ajayi said Friday after the Dolphins’ practice session at Allianz Park, the home of the Saracens rugby team. “I get to come home. This is an opportunity of a lifetime to certain people. And so I definitely appreciate what’s going on, and what the situation is. At the same time I’m not going to let that distract me from my goal, which is to win the game. But I’m definitely going to enjoy the experience.”
Ajayi is launching his own personal lifestyle brand, YURP, which stands for Your Unlocked Raw Power, and the unveiling took place on Friday in the United Kingdom.
The brand is a platform he’s been working on for a year and half with a childhood friend.
“It’s going to be exciting to launch in London,” Ajayi said. “That’s where the roots are from, that’s where my roots are from. It all made sense.”
He’ll have 30 to 40 family members and friends in the stands at Wembley Stadium Sunday, including his youngest siblings, who haven’t been to London until
now.
Miami’s coaches aren’t concerned that the spotlight placed on Ajayi this week will burn him out.
“I don’t think he feels pressure. I think Jay’s more about playing, and he’s done a good job with everything we’ve asked him to do. I think he’s excited to come play in this game,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said. “He wants to play well. He’s worked hard this week and had a good day the one day that he went. I just think he’s ready for Sunday to be here.”
Ready, and excited to inspire the next generation of international imports.
Packers wide receiver Davante Adams tweeted Friday that he was at home and “feeling great” a day after taking a frightening hit from Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan.
Adams was taken off the field on a stretcher with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter of Thursday night’s 35-14 win over the Bears after getting hit in the head during a tackle by Trevathan.
The Packers said he was conscious and taken to a hospital for evaluation for possible head and neck injuries, and that he had feeling in all of his extremities.
Trevathan was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty following Adams’ 8-yard catch but wasn’t ejected and any fine wouldn’t come to light until next week.
“Brutal hit,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “It’s a helmet-to-helmet hit. Davante was in a compromised position. Obviously, like everything in our game, it’s evaluated, and I’m sure there will be continued conversation going on through the channels long past today.”
The head of Las Vegas police says officers acted appropriately and professionally detaining Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett after a report of gunfire at an after-hours club on the Las Vegas Strip.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said reviews of hundreds of videos, including police body-worn cameras, found no evidence that officers racially profiled Bennett or used excessive force.
Lombardo says has been found to nothing support Bennett’s allegation, made on Twitter, that an officer put a gun to his head and threatened to blow his head off.
The Titans informed the league about the death threats to Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker and his family because of the anthem protests. The league said its security department is investigating.
Walker disclosed the threats Thursday night in a post shared on social media. Walker told fans upset by the protests that they didn’t have to go to the games if they felt disrespected.
The league fined Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. $12,154 for mimicking a dog urinating during a touchdown celebration against the Eagles. ... The unbeaten Falcons will be without four starters Sunday when they host the Bills: S Ricardo Allen (concussion), LB Vic Beasley Jr. (hamstring), T Ryan Schraeder (concussion) and DL Courtney Upshaw (ankle/knee). ... Browns rookie DE Myles Garrett (right ankle), the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, is listed as questionable to make his debut Sunday against the Bengals. ... Jets RB Matt Forte (turf toe) won’t play against the Jaguars . ... Cardinals G Mike Iupati will undergo surgery to remove a bone spur in his triceps area and is expected to be sidelined at least eight weeks . ... The 49ers signed CB K’Waun Williams toa three-year contract extension through the 2020 season . ... Los Angeles prosecutors said Raiders CB Sean Smith pleaded not guilty to beating his sister’s boyfriend in July.
“I get to come home. This is an opportunity of a lifetime to certain people.” Jay Ajayi, Dolphins running back