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The Houston Texans worked out the world's fastest man, Justin Gatlin, on Tuesday but that doesn't mean he's making a fast entrance into the NFL.
The Texans didn't make a big deal out of the Tuesday visit. They looked at Gatlin like they did with two other receivers -- Kevin McMahan of Maine and Jovan Witherspoon of Central Michigan. NFL teams usually bring in players for Tuesday workouts while the 53 players on the regular roster take a day off.
The only difference in this workout was the name recognition of Gatlin, the 100-meter gold medal winner in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Gatlin holds the world record for running the 100 meters in 9.76 seconds.
In April, he tested positive for the banned substance testosterone and accepted an eight-year ban from track and field.
Though the Texans wouldn't be willing to sign him for this season, they are one of the first NFL teams to look at him for future contracts, which teams can start signing in late December.
The reason for the slow reaction by NFL teams to Gatlin's availability is his lack of football experience. At the University of Tennessee he ran track instead of playing football. He hadn't played football since 10th grade.
Still, he's an interesting athlete to study. He's 6-foot-1, 180-pounds and only 24 years old. His agent is former track star Renaldo Nehemiah.
Senior writer John Clayton covers the NFL for ESPN.com.
Gatlin Biography
Born: Feb. 10, 1982, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Starts off as hurdler at high school and goes on to win six NCAA sprint titles.
2003: Wins U.S. and world indoor 60 meters titles.
2004: Wins Athens Olympics 100 meters gold medal in 9.85 seconds, one-hundredth of a second ahead of Portugal's Francis Obikwelu; finishes third in the 200.
2005: Wins world 100 title in Helsinki, Finland, in 9.88 seconds by the biggest margin (0.17) in the history of the championships; leads U.S. clean sweep in the 200, winning in 20.04 to become only the second man after compatriot Maurice Greene to complete the double.
2006: Runs 9.76-second 100 meters in Doha, Qatar, to shave 0.01 off Jamaican Asafa Powell's world record, but later has to share record because of timing error.
2006: Admits to failed test for testosterone at race in Kansas City. Avoids lifetime ban from track and field by accepting eight-year ban and agreeing to cooperate with doping officials.
