Chapter 971: 970 stabilizer
The whirlwind swept past Hardman’s eyes, leaving his right hand, raised for a greeting, frozen in place.
Hardman: Huh?
Startled for a mont, Hardman instinctively released his speed to chase after it.
As a wide receiver, speed was undoubtedly one of Hardman’s strengths, and even while carrying his equipnt bag, he continued accelerating.
Competition—it had already begun, even before spring voluntary training camp officially started.
Two figures dashed forward, one chasing the other at full speed. Ultimately, Hardman relied on his speed advantage to overtake and arrived first at the training field.
Huff—huff—
Hardman threw his equipnt bag aside, hands resting on his knees, panting heavily; the other person, only steps behind, entered the training field and stood diagonally behind Hardman, also catching his breath.
The two exchanged a glance, a hint of confusion flickering in their eyes:
Why were they sprinting?
Sorren Hill was Kansas City Chiefs’ second-round pick this year. The Chiefs had traded up with the Los Angeles Rams to choose him at the 63rd spot—a safety from the University of Virginia.
Though slightly lagging behind, the Kansas City Chiefs still opted for a defender.
And more than that—a safety!
Finally!
But Sorren Hill?
League analysts once again found themselves baffled. The University of Virginia hadn’t been making waves in football for years, and Sorren Hill was projected as a third- or fourth-round talent.
A second-round pick? Understandable perhaps, but the Chiefs had traded up despite other fitting players still available in the rookie pool. This choice inevitably raised a small question mark.
Take a look at the Chiefs’ second-round choices:
A wide receiver, 5.9 feet (178 centiters), 187 pounds (85 kilograms), with standout speed—essentially overlapping in style with the team’s top wide receiver, Hill.
A safety, specifically a strong safety, 6 feet (183 centiters), 205 pounds (93 kilograms), with no standout speed or strength; a player who completed all four years of college yet still remained unimpressive amidst a rookie class generally deed diocre this year.
That’s it?
Precisely because of this, Sorren Hill had his own point to prove.
Spring training camp, day one—his mind was focused solely on leaving the team a good impression. Seeing another rookie, Sorren Hill’s imdiate instinct was “competition.”
Whether necessary or not, regardless of the goal, he started running anyway.
Unfortunately, he lost.
Sorren Hill clenched his fist secretly, gritting out a frustrated curse: An extra fifteen sets of sprint drills tonight.
A safety’s main responsibility is defending against wide receivers. If he couldn’t catch up with even a second-round rookie, life in this league would be almost impossible; not to ntion, Kansas City Chiefs alone boasted two Great Demon Kings:
One, the wide receiver “Cheetah” Hill; the other was…
Sorren Hill saw it. Hardman saw it too. Both froze in shock—
In the training field, soone was already training. Having completed his warmup, he was performing basic speed drills. Though the morning air was cool, he was drenched in sweat, his jersey soaked through.
So, what had those two been competing for earlier?
They thought they were the first to arrive, only to find soone else already beginning their second or even third set of drills. An odd, misplaced guilt trickled in—a feeling like they had slept in and slacked off. Their cheeks flushed faintly.
More importantly, that figure was Li Wei.
Yes, it was that Li Wei.
The Li Wei who swept through the league, rewrote history, and commanded the winds; the Li Wei criticized by the dia during the offseason for excessive activities outside of football; the Li Wei who stood at the center of Hollywood’s storm; the Li Wei who, despite the praise and backlash, remained true to himself, earning universal acclaim within the league; the Li Wei who topped the league’s Top 100 Players list.
Here he was—live, right before them.
Hardman swallowed hard, muttering softly to himself, “The dia said Li Wei’s been slacking off in training. Is this fake news or what?”
“I even heard rumors that Li Wei skipped this year’s voluntary training camp…” Sorren Hill couldn’t help but chi in, rolling his eyes. Which dia outlet ssed up this badly?
Without needing Li Wei to speak or make eye contact, the two rookies were already dumbstruck, their brains temporarily ceasing to function.
Now, they finally knew which rumors were reliable and which were total nonsense.
For instance, the rumor that Li Wei was a training maniac comparable to Watt and Donald?
Suddenly, their knees felt a bit shaky.
“Ahem,” Hardman coughed awkwardly, almost choking on his own saliva. “So, uh… what now?”
“Train.” The answer didn’t co from Sorren Hill, but from behind.
Both rookies spun around, looking down—
A slender, smaller figure stood there, slightly shorter than Hardman, with a similar build that resembled that of a wide receiver. His ticulously grood dreadlocks had been tied into a high ponytail, evidently styled anew before the training camp.
Expressionless, his gaze fixed on Li Wei, who was still training.
After tossing out his single-word answer, he said no more, turning and heading toward the locker room with his training bag slung over his shoulder.
Hardman glanced at Sorren Hill. “Do you know him?”
Sorren Hill nodded and mouthed the words, “Pro Bowl Safety.”
It’s hard to bla Hardman for not recognizing him; the NFL had so many players—over two thousand—that inevitably, there were a few unfamiliar faces.
Had Tyrann Mathieu known his identity was unremarkable to Hardman, he wouldn’t have been angry; instead, it would fuel his motivation—
Drafted 69th overall in the third round of 2013 by the Arizona Cardinals, Mathieu had never been a dominant safety. Especially during those years when big-bodied safeties thrived under the Bombing Corps sche, smaller, slimr safeties like him were nearly invisible.
In his five years with the Arizona Cardinals, only his 2015 season stood out. That year, he made it to the Pro Bowl and the All-Arican Second Team, but that was the extent of his achievents.
Last season, after transferring to the Houston Texans and helping his team reach the playoffs, he still failed to gain recognition. The Texans let him seek other opportunities.
Joining the Kansas City Chiefs, Mathieu’s agent had actively fought for this chance, with Mathieu personally visiting Kansas City three tis for interviews before convincing Veach to complete the deal.
Not outstanding, not terrible, but hardly irreplaceable either.
Such was Mathieu’s predicant.
Since entering the league, he had been proving himself—and he needed to keep proving himself still.
Though entering his seventh year in the league, he was no different from a rookie.
When Mathieu caught sight of Li Wei, he knew his decision was right. Not because the Kansas City Chiefs were the reigning champions, but because the Chiefs had Li Wei. The locker room atmosphere was entirely different.
Imagine this: the team’s biggest star, the most crucial player, was the first to arrive at voluntary training camp, rigorously diving into training, leading by example as they embarked on a new season. So, what should the other players do?
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