After finishing the 2011 season on the bench for the Minnesota Vikings, safety Jarrad Page has decided to call it quits in the NFL. Page attended an open tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers six years after choosing football over baseball as a profession. It was then that the Anaheim Angels selected Page with their seventh-round pick, a clear sign of their strong intentions to lure him away from the Kansas City Chiefs who had drafted Page just a month prior.
Page, 27, played for the Chiefs, Eagles, Patriots, and Vikings in his six professional seasons — playing in 74 games, racking up 248 tackles, a sack, and 12 interceptions. Page was due to become a free agent, but instead his candidacy was fulfilled in a different sport.
The Dodgers decided to sign Page out of an open tryout the team conducted on March 1st. He performed very well and was signed to a minor-league contract as an outfielder. Scouts describe Page as being extremely raw. At UCLA he played in 57 games as a centerfielder in 2004 and 2005, hitting four home runs and 27 RBIs. Should Page make it to the big-league roster for the Dodgers, he would likely be slotted to play in the already-crowded left field position alongside superstars Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.
