Greg Gaines Makes Great Gains as Fleet and Funny NFL Player
Greg Gaines has always been a great defensive tackle. He started 47 games for the University of Washington. Won the Morris Trophy. Got drafted in 2019.
The only difference now is more and more people are finding out about him. The NFL. A MNF audience. Kyler Murray.
The Los Angeles Rams didn't even know what they had in this guy, but they do now.
After two pro seasons of rotating in as a reserve, the 6-foot-1, 312-pound Gaines from La Habra, California, has started 9 of 13 games for his hometown pro football team and produced in a big way.
It's been all about injuries and opportunities. Teammates got hurt and Gaines stepped up.
"I don't think there's no nose tackle in the NFL that's playing how he's playing right now," said Rams teammate and fellow defensive stalwart Aaron Donald, who should know about these things.
Monday Night Football viewers and broadcasters did a double-take when Gaines ran down Murray from behind, showing uncommon speed for a 300-pound man.
It was one of the NFL's top highlights from Week 14 and a high-profile encounter, in which the Rams left Arizona with a 30-20 victory over the Cardinals.
That sort of visibility can absolutely make a career.
Besides his football prowess, Gaines has offered up his personality, too, which has been caught on video for all to see, such as a teasing sideline exchange and punching gesture with Donald, who exclaims, "Get your fat ass away from me."
In another brush with greatness, the former Husky DL approaches Aaron Rodgers following their game in Green Bay with a wild-eyed grin and purposeful greeting in yet another moment that drew plenty of social-media response.
Gaines was called on to shoulder more of a load for the Rams this season when teammate Sebastian Joseph-Day tore a pectoral muscle and couldn't play. SJD may wish he'd never got hurt.
In the first 7 games in his new role, Gaines totaled a 16 tackles and a half sack. He was just getting warmed up. In his past 6 outings, he's rung up 28 tackles and 3 sacks, dropping Trevor Lawrence, Murray and Rodgers behind the line of scrimmage.
Not bad for a fourth-round draft from 2019, who was the 134th player selected.
Gaines seems ready to settle in for a long and fruitful NFL career, having successfully left Southern California, honed his craft in Husky Stadium and now made a breakthrough back home as a pay-for-play gladiator.
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