Rookie nose tackle Javon Hargrave was stunned by the news Monday that fellow lineman Cam Heyward had suffered a torn pectoral muscle early in Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys, and yet finished the game.
"He was out there playing with it," said Hargrave. "I didn't even think it was that serious."
Pro Football Focus surely couldn't have been surprised by the news. The scouting site called Heyward's performance the sixth worst in the NFL that day, since the Cowboys' offensive line "routinely moved him off the ball."
Therein lies the difference between perception and reality to a rookie in regard to his leader.