The Browns signed a wide receiver who had to lie to even get a tryout
The biography on Cleveland Browns wideout Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi’s team page makes it look like he shouldn’t be here. The 24-year-old’s “At A Glance” section contains just 47 words. The “College” section on his page shows he last played football in 2016.
To merely call Sheehy-Guiseppi a long shot would be underselling the point. He had no business even being at his tryout.
That’s not a comment on Sheehy-Guiseppi’s ability. That’s the truth. Sheehy-Guiseppi lied in order to get in front of NFL scouts, according to Cleveland.com’s Scott Patsko.
After he wasn’t offered a scholarship following his 2016 season at Phoenix College, Sheehy-Guiseppi went looking for other football opportunities. D1 schools weren’t interested, and both the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League passed.
If Sheehy-Guiseppi was going to make it to the NFL, he would have to get desperate. After finding out the address of an NFL workout, Sheehy-Guiseppi had to lie to get in.
How did Sheehy-Guiseppi do it? He said he knew Browns vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith, according to Patsko.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi. I’m here for the tryout.”
“Do you know Alonzo?”
“Yeah, I know Alonzo.”
The confidence paid off. Sheehy-Guiseppi had his foot in the door. To make sure his story didn’t fall apart, as soon as he saw Highsmith, he ran to him and introduced himself.
“I just knew I had to make it look like we were friends,” Sheehy-Guiseppi said. “Alonzo was real nice to me.”
Sheehy-Guiseppi impressed during that workout, which earned him an official tryout with the Browns. Sheehy-Guiseppi’s speed flashed during his tryout, and the Browns signed him in April.
As an undrafted third-string receiver and kick returner, Sheehy-Guiseppi knows he’s a massive long shot to actually make the team. Still, considering his journey, it’s impressive that he’s even here in the first place.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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