THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The headaches came and went, never once indicating when they might return. They kept him up when it was dark, stung a little harder when there was light and at times felt as if they would never end. Sam Shields, a Super Bowl champion and a Pro Bowl cornerback, thought he might never play football again.
"Throughout that year that I was out," Shields said, "I doubted a lot."
Shields has another chance now, on a Los Angeles Rams team that was already deep at his position but coveted him anyway.