Grant Newsome participating in offseason workouts, football future still unknown

Grant Newsome is one hell of a man.

Michigan’s offensive lineman went down with a serious leg injury in a game against the Wisconsin Badgers in Oct. 2016. He has not played since then, and almost lost his leg due to the injury. He was in the hospital for 38 days and had six surgeries in 40 days.

It took 10 months for a visual update on Newsome’s health, but we got one in Aug. 2017 when Jim Harbaugh tweeted a video of Newsome doing some rehabilitation drills.

Today, Newsome gave another update to a few local media members while at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, where he, Chase Winovich and Don Brown presented a check for more than $200,000 which they raised for the ChadTough Foundation.

It is a great sign that he is able to go through the offseason workouts right now and that he is “hopeful” to get back on the field, but the doctors still have the call on whether or not he can play ever again.

Newsome played left tackle at a high level during his sophomore season in 2016 up until the injury. He was named Michigan’s offensive lineman of the game twice in 2016, against UCF and Penn State, and was also recognized by Pro Football Focus for his game against UCF.

Bottom line — he is a valuable piece to the future of this team, both on and off the field. He could have given up on his rehab a long time ago, but that’s not what men like Newsome do. He kept fighting hard every day to get to a position where he can get back on the field. He is still fighting to get back on the field, but his hard work may pay dividends soon.

If Newsome is able to play in 2018, he will surely be one of the front-runners to land a starting role at either left tackle or right tackle. If he cannot play, the Wolverines have a lot of serious questions on their offensive line that will not be answered, presumably, until the summer.