i, a defensive tackle from Georgia Tech, was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent following the 2007 NFL Draft. Shortly after signing with the Vikings, he was cut by the team, therefore his tenure there wasn’t long. After that, he briefly played for the Jacksonville Jaguars before spending a season in the Canadian sports League and ultimately retiring from game.
While this may not seem like much, Joe Anoa’i went on to accomplish something very different, and it seems likely that his time with the Vikings was a major factor in making sure he could do so.
Most of you now know Joe Anoa’i today as Roman Reigns, the reigning WWE Universal Champion. He’s held this title for over 1,300 days and, with Wrestlemania weekend coming up, we’ve gained more insight as to why his football career ended abruptly.
In his words, the champ stated that, “it was the very first day of rookie camp, we started out and went and did our physicals, which included blood work. As I was walking out, there were two trainers there to pretty much intercept me. So that’s where we went into the rabbit hole to find out the diagnosis of CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia). . .which is a form of leukemia. . .which is cancer of the blood.”
About two years after Reigns’ leukemia was first discovered by his Vikings physical, it went into remission, but it returned in 2018. Soon after he resumed treatment, the leukemia returned to remission and remained so for the rest of his life. Reigns’ health issues kept him out of action for the most of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he has returned long enough to enjoy the prolonged reign as the Universal Champion that we previously discussed.
If Joe Anoa’i hadn’t signed with the Vikings, it’s impossible to predict how his career would have turned out. Maybe his football career would have gone in a different direction or his CML would have been discovered during one of his physicals with a different squad. Though it’s hard to say for sure.
