Eddie Royal describes himself as a 'slasher' on basketball court
The Chicago Bears signed veteran wide receiver Eddie Royal in free agency this spring, hoping he'd provide quarterback Jay Cutler with another reliable target in the passing game. They probably didn't know their acquisition doubles as a shooting guard.
The night before training camp started, Royal joined fellow receiver Alshon Jeffery and tight end Martellus Bennett on the basketball court, according to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. Although Royal (5-foot-10) is five inches shorter than Jeffery and eight inches shorter than Bennett, he held his own on the hardwood.
"Eddie's a hooper, man," Jeffery said, via the Tribune. "He showed me something. Eddie can get hot real fast."
Royal went into more detail on his style of play.
"Nowadays I don't play defense too much," Royal said, per the Tribune. "But I'm a slasher, a spot-up shooter. I can get to the hole when I need to. And Alshon's right. At times I can get hot."
Shooting hoops well won't help the Bears win games, but offensive coordinator Adam Gase believes Royal can be a faster Wes Welker working out of the slot, according to the Tribune.
"Eddie's got a special explosiveness that a lot of inside guys don't have," Gase told the Tribune. "Eddie is a threat at all three levels. He can come underneath. He can break out intermediate. And he can get down the field."
Through seven NFL seasons (including a rookie year with Cutler), Royal has 338 career receptions and 3,750 yards and 25 touchdowns. With big-bodied receivers in Jeffery and first-round rookie Kevin White manning the outsides, Royal's reunion with Cutler could yield career-best production in 2015.
(h/t Chicago Tribune)
Photo Credit: Bob Stanton/USA TODAY Sports
