Of course, there had to be at least one more twist along Devaroe Lawrence's path before he finally earned his place on a NFL roster this week, just one month shy of his 26th birthday.
The Cleveland Browns' new defensive tackle is the longest of long shots. He grew up in a broken home in Greenville, South Carolina, was essentially abandoned by his mother as a young teen, and spent time in jail twice around the time he was finishing high school before he was taken in by an assistant coach and his family.