A year after leaving Arizona to fulfill his aspirations of playing in the NFL, Ex-Wildcat Scooby Wright will return to school to finish his degree during his off-season.
Planning for your future is always important, and as the average NFL career is typically only three years (according to the NFL Players Association), it is especially vital to have a contingency plan in place beyond football. Ex-Wildcat Scooby Wright is out to pursue that plan. Students will get more of their highly decorated MLB, having Scooby back on campus attending classes will be an added bonus!
As you may recall, the NCAA standout at linebacker decided to leave Arizona a year early, after an injury-riddled junior season. Perhaps that, and being a bit limited regarding his size and athleticism, Wright fell in the draft to the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round, but as usual felt blessed with the opportunity.
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Well, his rookie season didn’t quite go as Wright had hoped, being released and then picked up again to play on the Browns’ practice squad for most of the year. Heck, the Browns season didn’t go well either. It wasn’t until Week 15 of the NFL season that Wright got a chance to be on an NFL Roster when the Arizona Cardinals signed him.
Bruce Arians finally got his wish; he had said after the draft that he was waiting and hoping to pick up Scooby as a free agent and was actually on the phone with him begging him to come to Arizona just as the Browns swept up the decorated middle linebacker.
Thanks in large part to injuries and attrition for the Cardinals, Wright was given his chance, officially registering some playing time on the season.
| Sacks & Tackles | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Week | Tm | Opp | Result | Sk | Tkl | Ast | |
| 2016-12-18 | 15 | ARI | NOR | L 41-48 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016-12-24 | 16 | ARI | @ | SEA | W 34-31 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017-01-01 | 17 | ARI | @ | LAR | W 44-6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Upcoming Games · Bye in Week 9 | ||||||||
| Cardinals 2016 Stats and Schedule · Scooby Wright Splits · Scooby Wright Gamelogs · Penalties |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Now since the Cardinals have officially been eliminated from having any playoff chances this year, the off-season in the desert begins a bit earlier than the organization had originally hoped. While some may be taking a brief time off from football, for Wright, however, the work is just beginning.
Hoping to prepare for next year, and potentially coming back even better than ever, Wright intends to work out here in Tucson (seeing as how he is much closer than he was in Cleveland), and while he is at it, he will also fulfill a promise he made to his parents, in pursuing his degree from the University of Arizona.
.@TwoStarScoob said part of his offseason involves going back to UA to work toward finishing degree and keeping a promise made to his folks.
— Adam Green (@theAdamGreen) January 2, 2017
A smart move by Wright and we only hope he can continue to find success on and off the football field!
Next: The Minnesota Vikings add Arizona Football Standout Cayleb Jones to Practice Squad
At Zona Zealots, we are happy to see Scooby back in Arizona. We are excited to see how much he improves next year in the Pro’s, and wish him the best as he pursues his future endeavors. Bear Down, Arizona!