Were this a year ago, perhaps Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell would have been out on the field practicing these past few days even as he nurses a minor hamstring injury. Last year, despite a detached abductor muscle that he toughed through for the entire season, he started every game in his first year with Pittsburgh.
But he knows better now.
He knows his body better, for one, after stretching the limits of his abilities while trying to perform with two torn groins, hardly missing a snap throughout the year. As Mark Kaboly notes, it was only later in the year that he wised up and took off some practice time.