Olympic wrestler Mason Parris swaps mat for Gridiron at the LA Chargers minicamp

Olympic wrestler Mason Parris is all set to swap the mat for the gridiron. Parris is at the LA Chargers minicamp, eyeing a spot at the NFL as an undrafted free agent. The wrestler decided to try and get into the NFL ahead of the conclusion of his Olympic campaign.

The 2023 NCAA heavyweight champion Parris is a four-time All-American and a two-time NCAA finalist. Parris is a two-time Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion, having triumphed in 2019 and 2022. In 2019, Parris was the Junior Freestyle world champion at 125 kg. He also won the US Open Championship a year later, in 2020. In 2023, Parris also won the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy.

Mason Parris had been eyeing an entry into the NFL after an unsuccessful opener at his 2024 Paris Olympic campaign. Parris has replaced the wrestling mat with gridiron as he posted the glimpses from the LA Chargers minicamp.

In an Instagram post, Parris shared the pictures from the gridiron where the wrestler is training to join the NFL. In the post, he wrote:

"LA Chargers Minicamp ⚡️ First time on the football field since high school. Grateful for this experience and the exact reset I needed."

The Lawrenceburg, Indiana native had an unsuccessful Olympic campaign. The wrestler fell in his opening match. In the first round against Mongolia's Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur, Parris was beaten with a 10-5 decision.

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Mason Parris trained in Normandy right where his great-grandfather fought during D-Day

Mason Parris is now chasing the NFL dream and is training hard at the LA Chargers minicamp. In 2024, the wrestler represented the United States Wrestling at the Paris Olympics.

Parris got the opportunity to train at Normandy, the place where his great-grandfather fought on D-Day during the second Wolrd War. In an Instagram post shared by USA Today in August 2024, the wrestler reflected upon his time at Normandy.

"U.S. wrestler Mason Parris spent the time leading up to the Olympics training in Normandy, France, near where his great-grandfather fought on D-Day.“It’s so beautiful out here right now,” Parris said later as he sat atop a wall high above Omaha Beach overlooking the English Channel. “But I can only imagine the terrors and everything that happened on that day.”

Parris's great-grandfather's legacy of war heroism is present in the documents and archives of war. Even though Mason Parris never met his great-grandfather, he still shares a connection with his legacy, representing the USA on a global stage.