But Jake Bates has become a bona fide weapon as well ... "I was working as a brick salesman in Houston. I thought the dream was dead. ... I thought football was done, so I had to move on and ...

The NFL is filled with stories of perseverance, but few are as remarkable as Jake Bates’s journey ... he was working as a brick salesman, with his football dreams seeming more distant than ...

Before signing a two-year deal with the Detroit Lions in June 2024 after a tremendous spring season in the United Football League with the Michigan Panthers, kicker Jake Bates was ready to move on ...

But Nolan did. He was convinced he had a secret weapon on his hands, a former brick salesman from Texas who could deliver a ...

With his salary at the NFL rookie minimum, $795,000, Bates could probably splurge on the pizza slicer himself. That's not the ...

He was convinced he had a secret weapon on his hands, a former brick salesman from Texas who could deliver a victory if Perry could get the Panthers within range. SHAWN WINDSOR:Jake Bates changes ...