NFL draft: All the pieces we learn about Abdul Carter’s harm, a possible Browns goal

The Cleveland Browns personal the second general decide on this 12 months’s school draft. A variety of hypothesis has been tied to this decide. One of many positions that the Browns want is a quarterback, whereas one other is a stud go rusher.

It has been assumed for fairly some time now that the Tennessee Titans, house owners of the primary general decide, will choose College of Miami QB Cam Ward. This is able to then give Cleveland your complete roster of blue-chip school gamers at their toes.

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All-World go rusher Myles Garrett has requested a commerce from the Browns to a playoff contender. Browns GM Andrew Berry has acknowledged publicly on a couple of event that Garrett isn’t going anyplace. If the Browns drafted a gifted go rusher with the #2 decide, that participant, coupled with Garrett, would supply a formidable go rush. If Garrett does certainly go away, that participant would fill the necessity to have a dominant go rusher, and Cleveland’s protection gained’t be the identical, however a minimum of it will be ready with a youthful stallion.

So, it’s win-win.

Penn State DE Abdul Carter is ranked because the #2 participant on most draft websites’ Huge Boards and rated as the highest go rusher. It might make a number of sense for the Browns to take Carter after the Titans select Ward as their subsequent beginning quarterback.

Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Photos

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If Garrett stays, the stud go speeding bookend the Browns have been on the lookout for all these years would now be in-house. Berry has tried to fill that position loads of occasions with Olivier Vernon, Chase Winovich, Jadeveon Clowney, and Za’Darius Smith. As an alternative of that bookend coming from a seasoned veteran, it will be manned by an elite rookie.

If Garrett is certainly traded, most probably it will be after June 1 when all of the free agent go rushers have been picked over plus the NFL draft has come and gone. This is able to imply Cleveland must depend on the rookie stud, with competitors for the opposite outdoors DE coming from Alex Wright, Isaiah McGuire, Sam Kamara, Cameron Thomas, or Ogbo Okoronkwo.

In school, Carter is named a game-wrecker. He’s an issue on each down. Sure, he’s that good.

Evaluating the 2025 EDGE Draft Class to the 2015-2024 lessons.

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Early Favorites | “Ceiling” Manufacturing Comp

— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) January 30, 2025

This previous season, Carter was voted Unanimous All-American, Two-Time First Workforce All-Huge 10, Second Workforce All-Huge 10 as a freshman, and named the Huge 10 Defensive Participant of the 12 months.

For his school profession, he had 172 whole tackles with 68 this 12 months, 41 tackles for loss with 24 in 2024, 23 sacks of which 12 got here this 12 months, with 13 batted passes, 5 pressured fumbles, and one decide. He led the nation in tackles for loss.

If the Titans choose Ward as anticipated, then for Cleveland, there are simply two decisions of finest participant accessible: Carter or WR/CB Travis Hunter of Colorado.

The examination course of

On the NFL Mix, gamers undergo a barrage of agility drills grouped with gamers of the identical place. However the very first thing that occurs is that every athlete is shipped to the hospital to be examined by docs.

This course of is among the most essential points of the Mix. It’s also a part of why there’s an occasion like this to start with.

Earlier than the Mix was invented, groups would ship coaches and scouts all throughout the nation to work out gamers and have them examined by a doctor. It was determined to carry these exercises in a great surroundings with the identical circumstances and in a single location the place all gamers would come to be examined, prodded, and probed by one set of docs and share the prices.

The athlete’s medical examination is intense. The method is prolonged and complete as they bend, fold, squeeze, prod, and take a look at each facet of every participant’s physique. Most athletes end the examination with none points or issues.

But there are people who the medical staff will discover one thing that’s both an present harm concern or find one thing unknown. On this sooner or later, what the docs discover might flip into the one most essential medical examination of that participant’s monetary life.

And it goes approach past knees, joints, and shoulders.

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Every examination is damaged down into two evaluations: orthopedic examinations and inner medical examinations.

With the inner examination, docs take a look at kidney, pulmonary well being, liver, and cardiovascular circumstances. That is performed by blood work, EKGs, and stress checks to see what the guts can take and to search for any abnormalities, equivalent to irregular heartbeats.

Present circumstances equivalent to hypertension, bronchial asthma or diabetes are famous and never often circumstances that sound the alarm for docs since most of those circumstances are handled and maintained with drugs, weight loss plan, and train.

The orthopedic evaluations are carried out in an analogous method. On the hospital the Mix makes use of, there are six examination rooms with six groups of medical workers. Every staff is stuffed in on earlier accidents and surgical procedures. Gamers have X-rays taken and different imaging research performed. One of many areas they look at is the lumbar backbone to see if there could also be a vertebral stress fracture, particularly in offensive and defensive linemen.

For gamers with a identified harm concern, their medical historical past is obtained and recorded. Their medical data are examined all the best way to their elementary college years. Previous accidents are examined for any lingering results.

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The quantity of specialists available for these examinations is staggering: Inside drugs specialists, Cardiologists, Nephrologists, Pulmonologists, Endocrinologists, Interventional Ache docs, Proctologists, Urologists, and Orthopedic docs who specialise in treating the musculoskeletal system are simply among the docs on the prepared.

Up to now, wholesome athletes have arrived, and docs have discovered a number of malignancies (cancers) throughout the Mix medical exams. Different findings have been undiagnosed coronary heart issues, equivalent to arrhythmias, and circumstances of sickle cell illness.

Something that’s deemed extreme might not solely have an effect on the participant’s draft standing however might stop him from receiving medical clearance, which might then get rid of his capacity to play within the NFL till the problem is solved.

An athlete can ‘fail’ the medical portion of the mix, though that’s uncommon. Situations and conditions might be discovered that aren’t identified beforehand, and it might be the case that the athlete has been taking part in with it with none information of its existence, particularly if little or no ache happens.

When an athlete completes the analysis course of, the Mix medical workers compiles the outcomes and has a truthful dialogue with NFL groups. All the pieces is shared. Membership GMs and coaches wish to perceive how vital of a threat a participant is predicated on his medical historical past and get an understanding of why one athlete had a ‘C’ grade whereas one other was rated a ‘B+.’

The foot harm

On Carter’s first day in Indianapolis on the Mix, his Wednesday night time hospital go to didn’t go as deliberate.

In keeping with a easy Google search, a stress response within the foot is:

“A ‘stress reaction’ in the foot refers to a localized area of bone pain and potential swelling caused by repetitive stress on the bone, often from overuse in activities like running, where the bone is experiencing microscopic damage without enough time to heal, essentially acting like a “bone bruise” earlier than progressing to a full stress fracture if the stress continues; signs often enhance with relaxation and might be felt within the midfoot, significantly across the metatarsal bones.”

If anybody has ever gotten shin splints, this sounds so much like that situation, particularly the portion about therapeutic with relaxation. It’s repeated stress on the bone, particularly with weight-bearing actions equivalent to taking part in soccer.

Get this: a stress response can develop right into a full stress fracture or microscopic injury to the bone. How is it cured? Relaxation, ice, and elevation of the foot.

Perhaps Carter has felt the ache of this all alongside. Who is aware of? Athletes have completely different ranges of ache and tolerance of ache. You may play with shin splints and masks the ache with topical ointments equivalent to Icy Scorching or Ben Homosexual, however the situation doesn’t go away. It simply comes again the following day when the exercise begins once more, and one other layer of ointment is required. Relaxation is what makes it go away utterly. However as a soccer participant, after a recreation, there’s possibly sooner or later of relaxation earlier than the following apply session begins, which is often a string of days.

Medical doctors instructed Penn St. DE and projected No. 1 decide Abdul Carter that, after additional scans on his proper foot, surgical procedure is just not advisable. Carter will work out at his March 28 professional day at Penn State.

“I couldn’t be more confident that this will be a non-factor where he’s drafted,”… pic.twitter.com/pHTkIzDcWM

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 27, 2025

On Thursday morning, Carter consulted with docs. It was decided that he wouldn’t endure surgical procedure after the docs suggested in opposition to it.

So, the questions stay: Does he want surgical procedure and simply isn’t going to undergo that course of? If he does want surgical procedure, is he going to attend till after the 2025 season? Or possibly proper after he’s drafted? How will this situation have an effect on his rookie 12 months? Is it a situation that’s solved with surgical procedure? What can be the rehab timeline? Will this harm create any long-term difficulties?

It’s a potential eight-week restoration if surgical procedure turns into an possibility which might contain inserting a screw into his foot. Because of this even after being drafted, Carter can be healed in time for many OTAs and positively coaching camp.

Carter has introduced that he’ll work out at Penn State’s Professional Day on March 28, and because the docs have acknowledged he ought to keep away from surgical procedure, Carter considers the stress response to be a “nonfactor” in the place he ought to be chosen on this 12 months’s draft.

In fact, this isn’t Carter’s solely harm difficulty. He’s already nursing a shoulder harm he suffered throughout the School Soccer Playoff quarterfinals in December in opposition to Boise State.

On the Mix, he has introduced that he is not going to be doing any drills or exercises however will take part in staff interviews, media interviews, conferences, and written/oral checks.

What ought to the Browns do?

If Berry does certainly choose Carter with the second general decide, and he both has surgical procedure on his foot or he doesn’t and the harm doesn’t trouble him or alter his capacity to be a dominant go rusher, then nice.

Do you continue to draft a participant with identified accidents?

Or do you’re taking a tough go and hope your determination is appropriate?

Many, many, many gamers have lengthy careers with none main well being or harm points like OT Joe Thomas. Some can’t full a full season like former Browns MLB Anthony Walker, who was harm all three seasons in Cleveland, then signed with the Miami Dolphins and was injured there. There isn’t any method to predict the harm bug.

Right here is another go rusher: DE Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M.

Popping out of highschool, he was ranked the #9 prospect within the nation (no matter place).

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Shemar Stewart is DOMINATING the Senior Bowl.

He’s 6’5, 281lbs with explosiveness you simply can’t educate.

There may be NO WAY he doesn’t go within the first spherical. pic.twitter.com/E1awJejsUb

— NFL Draft Information (@NFL_DF) January 29, 2025

The dude is a beast and lit up the Senior Bowl. For the primary two practices, he confirmed he was an elite go rusher, then left Cell, Alabama earlier than the final two practices and didn’t take part within the recreation.

Stewart is 6’-6” tall and was a meaty 290 kilos in his final school recreation. Now, he has dropped some weight and registers 267 kilos.

Stewart did a deja vu on the Mix. He impressed scouts and coaches after which left. The phrase is that he tweaked his hamstring throughout his first try on the 40-yard sprint, through which he registered a 4.6. However throughout his second try, he ran a 4.59, so determine that out.

Thursday was the day for linebackers and defensive linemen to do drills and run. Stewart had a 40” vertical, 1.58 seconds within the 10-yard break up, and went 10’-11” within the broad leap. His palms are 9 5/8”, his wingspan 83 1/2,”, and his arm 34 1/8”. He didn’t take part within the 3-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle, or the bench press due to the hamstring difficulty.

His eye-popping numbers are being in comparison with fellow A&M alum Myles Garrett.

What’s Stewart’s aim going into the NFL? To win Defensive Participant of the 12 months. Now, that’s targeted on the following step. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler acknowledged that Stewart “stamped himself as the best player” on the Senior Bowl.

INTERVIEW: SHEMAR STEWART

Stewart has a rating of #20, so if the Browns need him, they would wish to commerce down maybe twice. Right here is how that might work. The Browns commerce right down to round #5 or #6 and decide up a second-round spot and a decrease spherical choice, equivalent to a fifth. Subsequent, commerce down once more to the #20 slot and seize Stewart whereas on the identical time selecting up a 3rd and fourth-round decide.

Or what if Berry can’t determine what to do?

Nearly each 2025 NFL draft Huge Board has Travis Hunter listed #1. After the Titans take Ward, the Browns might simply choose Hunter and be performed with it. That’s fairly protected.