Report: Markus Zusevics injures pec

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Markus Zusevics' NFL combine workout ended Saturday after he injured a pectoral muscle doing bench presses, according to a person familiar with the player.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because league officials had not yet released details of the injury.

The Iowa tackle measured in Thursday at 6-foot-5 and 303 pounds. He started the past two seasons with the Hawkeyes and was considered a strong, straight-line blocker in the running game who lacked explosiveness.

The league does carry insurance for injuries that occur at the combine, the person said without providing details, though any injury obviously could hurt the draft stock of a player.

Deciding whether to work out in Indy has always been a tricky choice for players. Former Colts vice chairman Bill Polian often argued agents who complained about Indianapolis' slow track must not have seen Edgerrin James or Marvin Harrison play on the same field, and NFL executives and coaches often encourage players to work out.

"We're going to have to go look at guys whether they work out here or not, and there are always circumstances where a guy has tweaked something and he's not able to work out here, so he will work out at his pro day," Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel said. "I think generally, if a guy is healthy and he's able to, it's better for him to work out here because he gets total exposure. Every team in the NFL is here -- general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches -- whereas at your pro day, everybody's not going to be at your pro day."

In recent years, the trend has been for many big-name players to participate in some drills and stay out of others. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, for instance, plans to run Sunday in Indy. Neither Griffin nor Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck are expected to throw this weekend.

Most first-round prospects would rather perform skill tests at their school's pro day rather than around unfamiliar players and in an unfamiliar environment. Many participate in at least some of the drills.

But players projected to go after the first round, such as Zusevics, often try to impress scouts by doing as much as possible at the combine without incident.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

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