LeBron James; Football Player?

LeBron James is a name that’s now synonomous with Basketball. You can’t watch an NBA promo without seeing LeBron plastered all over it, and for good reason, he’s the best in the game right now undoubtedly. After the Cleveland Browns embarassing 16-0 performance on Monday Night Football again the Baltimore Ravens LeBron (who is a die-hard football fan) shared that he believes he could help the Browns or any team he played for in the NFL.

“If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good, no matter what team I was on.”

Although LeBron was obviously just joking around it does bring up the question: If LeBron decided to switch proffesions and become and NFL Player would he be able to make the adjustment? Everyone knows at 6’8 and 250lbs LeBron has definitely got the size, and if you watch him play just one game of basketball you’ll know that he is one of the most gifted athletes on the planet today. But as Browns Defensive Tackle Shaun Rogers says, it takes a lot more than athleticism and size to play in the NFL.

“It’s a punishing game. I just don’t think you can step off the basketball court after not going through this year in and year out and just play football. From that standpoint, I just don’t think it’s possible. You have to weather and condition your body to take this punishment.”

A very valid point, one which LeBron agrees with

“I’d be in football shape during football season, then I’d go to basketball and feel like I was out of shape,” LeBron said. “It’s totally different. And another thing you have to get used to is getting hit again.”

Although it is just a pipe-dream it’s tough not to imagine LeBron wearing a #23 Cleveland Browns jersey and lining up at Tight End. It’s worth noting that LeBron was a standout Wide Receiver in High School before quitting to focus solely on basketball. Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini is now to the point where he’s pretty much open to anything after orchestrating one of the poorest offences in NFL history to this point.

“I think he should come on down,” Mangini said

A sentiment that was echoed by Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn.

“That’d be great,” Quinn said. “Tell him to suit up and let us know, we’ll get him working. Obviously he’s an incredibly talented athlete. If he wants to try to play a little bit now, we’d be more than willing to pick him up.”

It seems even Shaun Rogers can’t help but fantasize about LeBron lining up beside the tackle.

“Yeah, he might make a heckuva tight end,” Rogers said. “I’d like to see him out there running down the seam.”

I’m going to have to agree with Shaun, after all, could you imagine the excitement of watching Le”Brown” do this every Sunday?