Could LeBron James play quarterback in the NFL? Joe Theismann thinks so. (USATSI)
Could LeBron James play quarterback in the NFL? Joe Theismann thinks so. (USATSI)

If LeBron James ever decides to give up on basketball, he could have a future as an NFL quarterback -- at least according to Joe Theismann. The former Washington Redskins quarterback believes the reigning NBA MVP is talented enough to be an NFL quarterback.  

"I wouldn't count him out," Theismann said, via Fox Sports Florida. "He's the most tremendous physical specimen in all of sports. I think he's certainly talented enough. He's intelligent."

Theismann is so kind that he has even offered to be James' agent if the Heat star decides to make the jump to the NFL. 

"I would love to work him out and also serve as his agent," Theismann said. "I'll go wherever he wants this summer. He could play another four years in the NBA before seriously trying the NFL. There are not a lot of 38- or 39-year-old basketball players, but there are 38- and 39-year-old quarterbacks, so there's time for him." 

The topic of James as a quarterback came up after he threw a few ridiculously good passes during Miami's Game 1 win over Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals.

After the game, James was asked if he thought he could have been a good quarterback if he put his mind to it. "I think so," James said. "I have the ability. I can see and read plays. I study a lot, so I know defenses and things of that nature. So I would have been pretty good if I had decided to go for it."

James does have some experience as a quarterback, if playing quarterback for your high school freshman football team counts. James was the freshman team's quarterback at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary before switching to wide receiver for his sophomore and junior years. 

Theismann said the transition to the NFL wouldn't be impossible for James because he's already a quarterback for another team: the Heat.

"He's like the quarterback on the Miami Heat, but there are so many things [to being an NFL quarterback]," Theismann said. "There's reading defenses. There's throwing the ball with touch. There's throwing a spiral in the wind. Maybe his hands are too big; the football's a different shape, and a basketball is obviously a lot different than football." 

Whatever obstacles stand in the way of James playing quarterback in the NFL, Theismann is ready to help him overcome them.

"The first thing I'd do is teach him the snap," Theismann said. "Then I'd take him through drop backs, quick hitches, throwing the deep ball. Wouldn't that be a great piece of footage to see, LeBron throwing the football?"

Theismann, who lives in Memphis, Tenn., will probably have his fingers crossed this week that the Grizzlies can overcome the current 3-0 series deficit that they're facing against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals. If that happens, the Grizzlies could host the Heat in the NBA Finals, which would mean LeBron in Memphis, which would mean Theismann could get an early start on pitching his wild idea.