With Jimmy Clausen out and David Fales in, the Bears needed to add a quarterback to the practice squad. On Tuesday, they signed Justin Worley, an undrafted rookie out of Tennessee.
Besides playing at the same school as Peyton Manning, very little is known about Worley.
He put up decent numbers at Tennessee, but the most telling stat came his senior season: 29 sacks in seven games behind an inexperienced line. The pounding took its toll on Worley’s throwing shoulder, ending his college career.
Vols coach Butch Jones told The Tennessean in 2014:
I give Justin Worley all the credit in the world. He tried anything and everything in the world to rehabilitate his shoulder back. He just could not get the velocity he needs.
After surgery on a torn labrum, Worley had to miss the Vols’ Pro Day. On ESPN’s positional rankings for the 2015 NFL Draft, Worley was listed at No. 33.
The Browns thought enough of Worley to invite the 6-4, 222-pound quarterback to their rookie mini-camp in June but did not keep him.
Getting back to Manning, there is one more thing Worley has in common with the sure-fire Hall of Famer: Both won national Gatorade Player of the Year awards in high school.
