Nephew of Junior Seau signs with Los Angeles Rams

Junior Seau died almost four years ago to the day, but his spirit lives on in the NFL — as well as his name.

Ian Seau, Junior's nephew, signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent on Tuesday, according to NFL.com. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Nevada defensive end, who was named first- and second-team All-Mountain West the past two seasons, capped off his career with 10 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss.

He's nowhere close to the prospect his uncle was when he came out of USC in 1990, but Ian has risen up noticeably since transferring from Grossmont College. According to a scouting report from NFL.com, the younger Seau "plays with a motor his uncle would be proud of and has a history of making impactful plays" but might have a tough time making the Rams' deep defense as an undersized pass rusher.

Still, a football-playing Seau is doing work now in Southern California, and it's a great story worth following.

The younger Seau enters a league that is far more aware of the dangers of head trauma and CTE, which Junior Seau suffered from when he took his own life. Here's hoping he honors himself and his family as impressively and beautifully as Junior's daughter, Sydney, did recently by honoring her late father on the anniversary of his death.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm