Perhaps the most difficult position for a rookie to find himself in is being sidelined with a significant injury. This is especially the case for a late-round draft pick or undrafted free agent, and is exactly the situation in which 2017 seventh-round pick Keion Adams found himself last August with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The outside linebacker out of Western Michigan—now reunited with two of his former teammates in tackle Chukwuma Okorafor and running back Jarvion Franklin—suffered a shoulder injury following the first several practices at training camp. He didn’t even get into a preseason game before then, and spent his rookie year on injured reserve.