It is entirely possible that the anticipation of Jeff Demps’ football career will last longer than his football career.
And it’s possible that his leg in the relay might as well.
According to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, the track star/return man has accepted an invitation to join the United States 4x100 relay team at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow next month.
The U.S. is always among the favorites in that event, and the final will be held Aug. 18.
That means Demps won’t join the Buccaneers until late in the preseason, which could throw a kink in his attempt to be a two-sport star. A similar late arrival in Patriots camp last year led to him being stashed on IR.
“We’ve had conversations with the Bucs and they’re excited about having Jeff,” agent Daniel Rose said. “And so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I wish I could give everyone a date certain for when he’ll be there but I can’t.’'
The Bucs could use the help in the return game, and traded running back LeGarrette Blount to the Patriots for Demps this spring.
Of course, that looks like offloading a problem (a la the Eric Wright deal), so the cost is negligible if they decide to not bother with the experiment.
