Caesar Rayford waited and waited. And waited some more.
No news was good news on a long Saturday for a 27-year-old rookie linebacker seeking a roster spot with the Indianapolis Colts. It was cut day across the NFL, when more than 700 players saw their hopes dashed, or at least temporarily put on hold.
“I didn’t know anything,” Rayford said in a telephone interview with The Indianapolis Star. “I was just waiting to see if I was going to get a call. I was on pins and needles all day.
“Once everything came out, I was like, ‘Well, I made it.’ ”
Yes, he did.
The Colts made 23 personnel moves to reach the league-mandated 53-player limit. Showing Rayford the door wasn’t among them.
“I’m definitely excited,” he said. “Everything I do, I thank the Lord. He brought me here. Now he’s given me the opportunity to do something I love to do. I’m looking forward to playing my first NFL season.”
Rayford’s path to the NFL is circuitous: the University of Washington, the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League, the Spokane Shock and Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League.
Not once did an NFL team dial him up, until the Colts showed an interest and brought him in for a workout in May.