Article content

Time is now Adam Zaruba’s ally.

Last week, the Canadian rugby sevens player re-signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. The 26-year-old North Vancouver, B.C., native first joined the NFL club last July, three days before training camp.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Zaruba now has benefit of time and experience in second go-around with Eagles Back to video

Despite not having played in an actual football game since high school, Zaruba lasted until Sept. 1 with Philadelphia, which hosts the Atlanta Falcons in NFC playoff action Saturday afternoon. The six-foot-five, 265-pound tight end obviously showed enough to warrant a second chance with the Eagles but now has the benefit of prep time and NFL experience under his belt.

“I still have quite a lot to learn and master,” Zaruba said in a telephone interview. “But going into it I’ll feel much more comfortable because I’ll know what to expect in terms of how things go day to day and what I need to know.

“Last year I wrote everything down, even stuff I didn’t need to . . . and had to learn how to study and learn the plays properly. I still remember quite a bit about the alignments and formations we ran so going into (next) summer it will still feel familiar for me. Same with anything to do with football-related skills. It was good to get my feet wet and feel what it’s like to play football again and also get used to the speed guys are playing at.”