According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Abdul Carter, arguably the top overall prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft and an option for the Cleveland Browns with the second overall pick, is not expected to work out at Penn State's Pro Day which takes place on Friday.
The current belief is that Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter will not work out at tomorrow's pro day, multiple league sources tell @NFLonCBS. Carter is a potential top-3 pick in April's draft even after tests revealed a stress reaction in his right foot at the combine.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 27, 2025
Tests revealed that there was a stress reaction in Carter's foot at the NFL Scouting Combine last month. At the time, the prospect of surgery was brought up, but almost immediately, Carter's agent Drew Rosenhaus dismissed the idea. Per Rosenhaus, the expectation from doctors was that the issue would heal on its own.
At the combine, Rosenhaus told ESPN's Adam Schefter, "We fully expect Abdul to be recovered in time to work out at his pro day at Penn State, and he will perform at a very high level.'' So if Carter does not work out, that will raise questions about the state of the foot.
A stress reaction is a precursor to a stress fracture. Unless something has changed, there is no fracture and the foot continues to heal. All 32 NFL teams will get an updated report on the state of the foot next month as part of the combine medical recheck.
To this point, nothing has suggested Carter is suffering any ill effects in terms of how he's viewed as a draft prospect. It's not yet clear if teams are all that concerned with Carter doing a workout or not. His athleticism isn't in question, but teams would obviously like for the player they are hoping to select to be healthy before they have to select them.
So long as the Browns are confident in their evaluation of the player and the health of the player by the time he'd need to be on the field to start working, it may not matter. If either the foot does not heal right and requires an invasive surgical procedure or team doctors have concerns that this could be an ongoing problem in his NFL career, that might cause the Browns to look elsewhere with their selection.
Carter did not miss a game in his career at Penn State. He did suffer a shoulder injury that caused him to leave the team's playoff game against Boise State. He then played through it in their next playoff game against Notre Dame. In a statement to Schefter, Rosenhaus said this is the issue that is causing Carter to miss Pro Day.
"He is still finishing up rehab on the shoulder injury he had from the Boise State game. He may still do a workout for teams sometime in mid April." Whether that means the foot is healed or Rosenhaus is trying to downplay it remains unclear. For now, teams continue to wait to get confirmation from the league on the state of Carter's medical situation. The Browns may get a chance to hold a workout with Carter in a few weeks for the sake of due diligence.