Marcus Cannon, a former TCU Horned Frog offensive lineman now playing for the new England Patriots, made his NFL debut on Monday November 21 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Normally NFL debuts are a big deal for the players, their family and friends, as well as their past coaches.
But there is something special about the debut of the 23-year old Cannon, a 2011 draft pick of the Patriots, for he has beaten cancer, a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in order to make it back to the playing field.
Cannon went into the NFL Draft process early this year preparing for what he hoped to be the life of a star NFL lineman. But during some routine medical tests done by the NFL pre-draft it was found he had cancer and they started an aggressive treatment.
While the diagnosis scared off many teams it did not dissuade New England and Bill Belichick who are always looking for good lineman. They decided despite the medical history they would draft Cannon because they were assured his prognosis was good.
Cannon, was drafted but between the NFL lockout and the medical restrictions, didn’t set foot on a football field until October. Prior to that he attended meetings and watched practices and tape and earned the Patriots system. he got in the weight room to get stronger. He hit the books to get smarter. Then when he got on the field he defied all the expectations of not playing this year. he showed the staff, his teammates and the football fans everywhere he was ready to go.
After the Patriots Week 10 win at New York over the Jets, Cannon was placed on the 53-man roster and in Week 11 he dressed for his first NFL game. In the fourth quarter of a big Patriots lead Cannon took the field as a NFL player. He beat the odds.
ESPN, who was televising the game, showed Cannon standing on the field during a time out. Fellow rookie lineman Nate Solder said something to Cannon who burst into a smile.
Dreams do come true, they just did for Marcus Cannon.
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