Daniel Fells had turned 30 and had to re-imagine what his life would be.
A life devoted to football appeared to be fading. The veteran tight end had spent seven years with six different teams, bouncing from Atlanta to Oakland to Tampa to St. Louis to Denver to New England, before being released by the Patriots at training camp last year.
Fells sat home and waited for the phone to ring. A few times it did, resulting in a few tryouts, but no team would take him on.
“I’m human. Doubt creeps in, can I still do this?” Fells said Tuesday at Giants training camp. “I’ve been doing this for awhile, is it time for retirement? I don’t know. But then at the same time, I’m hungry. I know I can continue to play. So, I kept working out. [But] you’re also preparing, I had maybe a couple toes out the door just preparing for the afterlife.
“Change is not easy. Any time you’ve been doing something for as long as we’ve been doing it, it’s hard to think that that’s going to be gone and you have to start something new. I’m not naïve. I know that football’s not forever. At some point this is going to have to come to an end, so I have to start thinking about that the end result and what I want to do afterwards.”
Fells considered owning a business, having his father-in-law, who is a business broker, bring him different ventures he could pursue in his native California. Before that became necessary, the Giants revived his career, signing him in January.
Though Fells is the most experienced tight end (92 career receptions, eight touchdowns) in the team’s five-way fight at the position, the coaching staff said there has been no real separation by any player from the rest of the pack.
So, Fells said he’s trying to make himself stand out in any way, even if it’s on special teams. An undrafted free agent out of UC Davis, cut over and over, Fells is used to having to earn his spot in camp.
“From my standpoint, any situation would be a good situation for me,” said Fells. “Coming off of a year of not doing anything, I was just looking for an opportunity to get my foot back in the door and showcase what I could do.
“After sitting out for a year, you’re going to be a lot more appreciative, so I’m not looking at it like it’s a last chance, but at the same time, you’re kind of like, it can be taken from you at any moment.”
Continuing his career is as much about prolonging a childhood dream as it is providing for his two children.
“I’m out here and I’m hungry because I have a family to support,” said Fells. “This is my passion, this is my love, but at the same time, there’s more to this than just football.”