Buffalo Bills' Marquise Goodwin sets personal best long jump mark

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin set a personal best mark in the long jump during USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championship competition on Thursday evening, but did not qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing this August.

Goodwin - who qualified for the 2012 Olympics with a meet-best 8.23-meter jump, which would have won silver at the 2012 games had he been able to replicate it - registered an 8.37-meter (27 feet, 5.5 inch) jump last night that vaulted him into third place and left him within qualifying range with just a few jumps remaining. When Michael Hartfield came in at 8.42 meters, however, Goodwin was nudged down to fourth place, and out of qualifying range.

That's not exactly bad news for Goodwin, though; the IAAF Worlds take place in Beijing from August 22-30, and he would not have been able to attend. He'll be a bit preoccupied by Bills training camp at that juncture, you see. But the strong showing in an event he had not participated in for over three years could serve to keep his name viable for next summer's Olympic Team Trials, should he decide to try to land a spot in a second straight games.

In the meantime, Goodwin will return to Orchard Park (by way of St. John Fisher) later this summer to try to crack the Bills' 53-man roster. The third-year pro caught one pass for 42 yards in 2014.