FLINT, MI - "How you feelin'?" longtime F.W.C. Berston boxing coach Paul Lesears asked.

"I'm all right," Chris Greenwood said, smirking.

As sweat drenched his athletic frame, the 27-year-old was exhausted.

The former Detroit Lions fifth-round draft pick from Albion College just completed an 85-minute boxing workout in the basement of Flint's Berston Field House on Tuesday evening.

Greenwood started with three miles, then banged out sessions of heavy bag training, combinations, speed bag punching, sit ups, bicycle crunches and medicine ball bouncing.

"You're definitely going to have an edge," Lesears told Greenwood. "Some people don't work out in the off-season, so you will definitely have an edge on them."

On Feb. 21, the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers added Greenwood to their training camp roster. Greenwood, a Motown native drafted as a cornerback, also played with the practice squad last season.

A three-day minicamp is coming up in April, training camp begins in May then the 2017 season starts in June. Greenwood still must earn his spot but he's ready for the challenge with a fresh set of goals.

"To get that starting spot, get some good film and hopefully to transition back to the NFL somehow," Greenwood listed. "As far as my team goals, it's all about winning. Whatever I do, it's going to be solely to help the team."

Detroit released the former Albion College star in 2013 after he missed his entire rookie season because of abdominal surgery, and then he strained his hamstring the second year.

The 6-foot-1 and 195-pound cornerback also had brief stints with the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots before taking the CFL route.

When thinking of ways to prepare, Greenwood reached out to his uncle and former NBA veteran Jeff Grayer for advice. They agreed that boxing would be the perfect method of training.

"I was just thinking boxing can get me some quick hands, footwork and all of that," Greenwood said. "This is Flint, so Jeff knows all the good places to go and told me to come down here."

As a diehard Lions fan, Lesears was more than happy to train his first football player with professional experience. So many of his boxing techniques can translate over to the gridiron.

"He's playing cornerback, so that's like a one-on-one battle every down," Lesears said. "If it's a run play, somebody is trying to block him. If it's a pass play, he has to chase somebody.

"He's going to be light years ahead of them. He already breezes through his football workouts now and doesn't get tired now."

Greenwood lives in Detroit but works for the Flint-based WT Stevens Construction company when he's not training at Berston or First Class Athletics on Richfield Road with Jerry Robinson.

Greenwood assists the company with the lead pipe replacement amid the city's ongoing water crisis, but would rather play football for his everyday 9-5.

"It's fun," Greenwood said. "It's football. It's what I love to do."