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January 25, 2004
To Be Prepared
This Jordan thinks he's one injury away from being active
By John Delong | JOURNAL REPORTER
CHARLOTTE
Chances are you've never heard of Omari Jordan.
If you have, chances are you're either a relative, or a University of Buffalo football booster, or one heck of an NFL trivia expert.
Jordan is a member of the Carolina Panthers, and he'll be on the plane today when the Panthers fly to Houston for Super Bowl XXXVIII.
But he hasn't played a down all season - hasn't even suited up on game day, for that matter.
He's one of five members of the Panthers' practice squad, on the payroll but not on the team's official 53-man roster. The job description reads something like this: Bust your tail in practice every day to help prepare the starters for the coming game, then watch from the sidelines on Sunday.
For Jordan, a 6-4, 315-pound defensive tackle, it's a way to keep his foot in the NFL door, a way to continue to improve until the right opportunity comes along. It definitely beats the alternative - being out of professional football altogether.
Going to the Super Bowl is just icing on the cake.
"Just being part of this is great," Jordan said. "Two months ago, I was sitting at home on the couch. So who'd a thought? If you'd have told me two months ago I was going to be part of a Super Bowl team, I'd have said you were crazy."
The practice squad is designed for players with two years or less of NFL experience, although there are occasional exceptions. The players remain free agents, technically, and can be signed by other teams to their 53-man rosters as the season progresses - or, they can be called up to the Panthers' active roster.
Linebacker Vinny Ciurciu started the season on the Panthers' practice squad. Then he was signed by Tampa Bay, played eight games there, then was re-signed to the Panthers' active roster after the Bucs waived him.
Jordan, defensive end Chris Demaree, tight end Deitan Dubac, offensive lineman Mike Houghton and center Louis Williams - the Panthers' seventh-round pick in 2001 - comprise the practice squad.
Jordan is perhaps the most fascinating story of the bunch.
He wasn't drafted after playing college football at the University of Buffalo - the Buffalo Bulls, not the Bills - but wound up in the Baltimore Ravens' training camp in 2002. After being waived, he returned to Buffalo - the Bills, not the Bulls - and spent the second half of the 2002 season on their practice squad.
He was waived by the Bills in training camp this season and was back home in Cleveland when the Panthers came calling. First came a workout in November, then he got the call to join the practice squad on Dec. 17.
"It took me by surprise," Jordan said. "I mean, in the back of my mind I was done for the year. I was telling myself, 'Keep positive, keep your head strong,' but you know, I had never worked out for this team before and I had never played against them, so when they called I was like, 'Wow.'
"But that's the way it is. It reminds you, you have to stay in shape and you have to stay focused because you can get that call any time. You can be cut and sit out all the way up until December, and you still might get the call."
Jordan's role in practice each day is to go up against the Panthers' offensive linemen and give them the looks they'll face against the New England Patriots next Sunday.
But Jordan takes the approach that he needs to prepare as if he were suiting up himself.
"I've always looked at it like I'm one injury away from being active," he said. "I already knew when I got to Baltimore I was good enough to play in this league. It ain't about me giving guys a good look, if you know what I'm saying. I'm like, 'I'm here and I'm ready.' I'm not one of those guys who's a practice dummy you're gonna just push around. I honestly believe I'm one play away from being active, and I believe one day I'm going to be a great player."
In that sense, nothing could be finer than coming to Carolina. As a young defensive tackle looking to keep improving, he's around a couple of the best defensive tackles in the league in Kris Jenkins and Brentson Buckner.
"Every day, I get to work with probably the greatest front four in the NFL today, so it's a great experience," Jordan said.
Jordan and the other four members of the practice squad will be on the sideline with the team in Reliant Stadium next Sunday, wearing street clothes. At that point, Jordan's only job will be to cheer Jenkins, Buckner and others on, to supply as much moral support as possible.
Sometime that day, he'll probably pinch himself to make sure it's all really happening.
"Just being part of this is a payoff for me," Jordan said. "It's a payoff for those days when things look dark and you think you're never going to get another shot again. It's a payoff, and it's an awesome payoff."