As NFL season opens, some Rays wonder what might have been on gridiron

A group of Rays were watching a recent NFL preseason game in the clubhouse when outfielder Josh Lowe tossed out a question to his teammates:

“If you lined up behind the quarterback and they gave you the ball, could you get 10 yards in a run?”

There was some typically spirited conversation, and then reality set in: Most of them would be unsuccessful — and likely unsafe — trying to do so.

Except for one of the smallest — Taylor Walls, their 5-foot-10, 195-pound infielder, who last played football as a middle schooler in youth leagues.

“I could do it,” Walls said.