As most NFL players are focusing on getting in shape and ensuring they play a full season, Patriots rookie Marcus Cannon is overcoming a much different challenge. Originally projected to be a second-round draft pick, Cannon dropped to the fifth round due to health concerns after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, despite being given a 90% chance of a complete recovery.
With just a few weeks until the planned start of training camp, Cannon is set to finish up his chemotherapy this week and fortunately hasn’t lost any weight or hair through the process. The offensive tackle out of TCU has been working out regularly with former college teammates and continues to lift weights a few days a week as he hopes to be ready to train with the Patriots when that time comes.
“The first thing my mom and my dad told me to do is pray, and here we are today,” Cannon told the Star-Telegram. “For everybody who doesn’t believe, here’s your reason to believe. It’s a miracle in itself that somebody with a life-threatening disease gets drafted.”
Starting at offensive tackle for TCU, Cannon was a dominant force on their offensive line, not letting up one sack in 2009. The next year, his senior year, he was shifted from right to left tackle, being given the responsibility of protecting quarterback Andy Dalton’s blind side. Cannon was part of a line that allowed just nine sacks all year, helping him earn an All-American selection his senior season.
One of the top offensive guard prospects in the entire draft, Cannon saw his projected draft stock drop multiple rounds due to the cancer diagnosis, but as expected he is going to make a full recovery. At 358 pounds, Cannon is set to be a force on the Patriots’ offensive line.
He has continued lifting weights, benching an impressive 315 pounds as he tries to maintain his mass through the chemo treatments. Cannon told Star Telegram reporter Charean Williams that he couldn’t be better. “All I can do is keep doing what I’m doing,” Cannon said. “That’s to keep praying and accept my healing.”
