Former Phils OF Dylan Cozens announced today that he is retiring from baseball in order to pursue an NFL career:
I’ve decided it’s time to chase my dream of playing in the @NFL. I want to thank the @phillies @RaysBaseball and @Brewers organizations for giving me the opportunity to play professional baseball but more importantly the people, experiences, and memories I’ll keep forever.
— Dylan Cozens (@dylancozens) June 22, 2021
Cozens and Rhys Hoskins were dominant forces in the minors together, and while Cozens did make it to the Majors he never came close to being the same type of guy that hit 40 jacks in a record-setting MiLB season in 2016.
Cozens is 6’5, 250 lbs and was committed to play football at Arizona before being drafted by the Phils, so the Birds may have their next defensive end already familiar with Philly.
In all seriousness, I love when athletes can achieve the feat of playing multiple professional sports. No matter what you say about Tim Tebow or Michael Jordan hitting in the low-.200’s, the fact they were able to switch careers and outperform guys who were drafted and played regularly is amazing.
So who knows, maybe we’ll see Dylan Cozens lining up alongside Fletcher Cox in a few years. Always good to see a former Phillie in the news for a good reason, so I am definitely rooting for Cozens to succeed here.
Go birds.
H/T to Phillies Nation for the og story: https://www.philliesnation.com/2021/06/former-minor-league-star-dylan-cozens-now-chasing-nfl-career/
https://mailchi.mp/1ad6b7444dd2/sign-up-for-the-daily-steez
