Vacaville native Carson Strong to play pro football, signs with Philadelphia
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
Former Will C. Wood High School football player Carson Strong will play in the professional league after signing with the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend.
Philadelphia signed Strong to an undrafted, free agent deal less than an hour after the NFL Draft concluded on Saturday. The move comes after a stellar college football career with the University of Nevada.
"When I was in high school, there was only one college that believed in me enough to give me a scholarship," Carson said in a statement last year. "Over the past four years, I have done everything I could to prove to the University of Nevada that they made the right decision in believing in me."
His performance on the field was impressive, completing 70 percent of his touchdown passes that helped him gain more than 4,100 yards and three dozen touchdowns last season.
"Strong has one of the best arms of the 2022 quarterback class, and plenty of production to show for it," the website Sporting News said this week.
Despite his arm strength, pro football analysts said the Vacaville native was not a strong first-round contender because of a debilitating knee injury he incurred during his high school football career, one that required multiple surgeries.
“Unless my leg snaps in half and my bone is sticking out of my skin, I’m gonna play,” Carson told reporters. “Unless I can’t walk, I’m going to play. I’ve always said, if I can walk, I can play.”
After one surgery, Strong said he was "feeling great" and was able to move without the help of a knee brace, which offered some optimism about his chances of playing in the professional league.
In December, Strong declared for the 2022 NFL Draft.
"It is my hope over these next few months that there is at least one NFL team that believes in me the same way Coach Norvell, Coach Mumme and the entire Nevada coaching staff did back in 2018," Strong said.
On Saturday, after he was passed up through all seven rounds of the NFL Draft, Strong signed with the Philadephia Eagles, joining the team's starting quarterback Jalen Hurts and backups Gardner Minshew and Reid Sinnett.
The valuation of his contract was not known as of Saturday afternoon.
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