Guard Austin Wentworth Waived After Serious Medical Situation
Adam Warwas
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The Vikings made waves on Tuesday by releasing wide out Mike Wallace and his $11 million price tag. In the same press release distributed by the team, however, the team announced that they had also waived guard Austin Wentworth.
Wentworth entered 2015 with his goal set on the starting job at left guard, but an interview with Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press revealed that the health issues that cropped up in March were serious enough to call it quits.
After a tingling sensation in his legs sent Wentworth to the hospital it was determined that surgery was needed where he had a muscle removed, which cost him the ability to move his foot and ensured he would wear a brace for the rest of his life. Blood clots were pegged as the root cause of the problem.
“My career is over, unfortunately,” Wentworth said at the time. “It’s difficult enough to play in the NFL when you have all your muscles and take away one that you use for footwork, so I’m going to have to call it a career.”
“I’m looking at it like I was able play for a great team and get some playing time as an undrafted free agent, which is pretty rare,” he continued. “I’m trying to look at it in a good light.”
Wentworth also told Tomasson that the Vikings paid a large portion of his 2015 salary after placing him on the reserve/non-football illness list.
“I got really lucky with the team I picked,” said the undrafted Fresno State product. “They’ve been nothing but amazing.”