Rory Beggan and Mark Jackson to try out for NFL teams this weekend

Monaghan goalkeeper Rory Beggan and Wicklow goalkeeper Mark Jackson will try out for NFL teams this weekend.

For Beggan, he will be heading to North Carolina for the Carolina Panthers, while Jackson will try out for the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to NFL Ireland.

Beggan and Jackson were among the four Irish athletes who headed to the United States in February to trial as kickers and punters in the NFL.

In March, Down’s Charlie Smyth signed a three-year deal with the New Orleans Saints after visiting their facility earlier that week. Beggan and Jackson had not received contracts and were back playing for their intercounty teams in the championship, but now have been given another opportunity to make it stateside.

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For the NFL combine, they were trying out for all teams in the league, but they are now focused on their individual teams, competing in a mini-camp against others, with a lucrative contract within reach if things go well for them through the NFL International Pathway Programme.

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