Brian Banks certainly makes for a nice story as a man finally freed after the injustice of being sentenced to prison for a rape he didn't commit and losing several years of his life to the ensuing punishment. Yet as many people as there are cheering for him to make a comeback to football, the reality of the level of competition in the NFL is going to be tough for Banks.
Banks worked out for the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday and was scheduled for Seattle again on Wednesday in his search for a potential NFL home. Romeo Crennel, the Chiefs head coach, gave a quick update from mini-camp today on Banks' workout with the team.
"It went good considering that he hasn't been playing football, but you can tell he has been working out. With football drills, he still remembers those things. I think the more workouts he can have with these different teams, the more it will come back to him. But it was a decent workout."
When asked whether the Chiefs would offer Banks a contract, Crennel quickly shied away.
"That's Scott. That's his job. I just coach the ones he brings me."
Specifically, Crennel said there are so many factors at work against a man who hasn't physically played the game for several years. No matter what sort of physical shape Banks might be in, that's not the only thing at work.
"Well, the game has changed quite a bit," said Crennel. "And then not having played, that's the biggest challenge. The level of competition, the skill of the guys he's going against and then the game itself has changed. It's a more wide open game. You have terminology issues you have to deal with, conditioning you have to deal with. All of those things make it tougher for him to be able to come back and just jump right in and make a good impact."
For more on the Kansas City Chiefs' 2012 minicamp, check out Arrowhead Pride and SB Nation's NFL page.
