ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Alex Carter has been behind from the beginning. A season ago, after being drafted in the third round by the Detroit Lions, the cornerback had no choice but to sit out the majority of spring workouts due to NFL rules since his school, Stanford, was still in classes.
When he finally did show up, he was picking up things his teammates had already learned. Then, when he returned for training camp and the hope of being on equal enough footing with at least the rest of the rookies, Carter injured his ankle and it cost him his entire first season.