Earlier this week, I mentioned that Australian rugby star Jarryd Hayne was reportedly expected to sign with the Detroit Lions. He visited the Lions, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, but an Australian newspaper reported he was going to announce Detroit as his choice. Things might be changing, or we're just in the middle of some agent shenanigans.
Jack Bechta, Hayne's agent, told the Sacramento Bee and CSN Bay Area that that no decision has been made. The Sydney Morning Herald has an article mentioning the 49ers as a potential favorite, but that seems to be pulling from Matt Barrows's Tuesday article. In that article, Barrows had this quotation from Bechta:
"Trent (Baalke) and his team had a blueprint for how they could help Jared succeed that was very intriguing and on point."
It is possible there really is nothing decided, but it also could be that Bechta is trying to maintain some kind of leverage in negotiations. I suppose leverage is not a huge issue when representing a guy who has never played American football before, but who knows. It could be that the previous Australian report was just plain wrong. My guess is we find something out in the next few days.
All indications are that Hayne's best options would be as a running back and/or return man. If he focused on working as a returner and general special teams player, he could work his way onto a 53-man roster sooner rather than later. They are not simple jobs, but if he does not have to learn much of an offensive playbook as well, it lessens the learning curve to some extent.
Here is a video of highlights.