Patriots defensive end Adrian Clayborn chases down Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers during their Nov. 4 game. ▲

FOXBORO — By the time this baby boy opened his eyes, adversity had already hit.

Life wouldn't be easy for Adrian Clayborn. That trend started the moment he took his first breath on July 6, 1988.

He was so big when he was born that when doctors pulled him from the birth canal, his head and neck were pushed to the side. That caused damage to his brachial plexus, a network of nerves that create movement and sensation in the hands and arms. It left him with Erb's palsy, a paralysis of the arm.

Clayborn needed physical therapy early and often to deal with the loss of movement and weakness in his right arm. He was an easy target in school as his left arm was bigger than his right, but he never let the limitations set him back.

"I mean, it affects me in little ways, but I try not to think about it so I don't make an excuse," Clayborn said. "I never used it as an excuse and never will."

If you saw Clayborn in the weight room, you wouldn't notice the Erb's palsy. He's always lifted the same amount of weight with each arm — and he's lifted a lot. It's the same on the football field. You can't tell when he lines up for the Patriots on Sunday. It was similar at the University of Iowa and in high school at Webster Groves in Missouri.

"He always found a way to adapt," said Cliff Ice, Clayborn's head coach at Webster Groves. "It was really interesting. We said, 'Well, maybe it'll catch up to him in the Big 10.' Then, 'Maybe, it'll catch up to him in the NFL,' and it never did. He just does his job, he prepares and works hard."

Clayborn never had a choice. Working hard was his way out, the means to provide a better life for his family. Adversity hit this St. Louis native early, and tragedy would follow.

Early loss

Clayborn was 10 years old when his mother, Tracie, rushed into his bedroom and woke him along with his older brother James and sister Crystal. The drive to his grandmother's house was quiet. The siblings knew something was off, but had no idea of the harsh reality.

When they arrived, they sat together on a couch and listened. Their mother explained that their brother Anthony had been murdered. The eldest sibling had been out with people he thought were his friends. He was shot and robbed, left lying near a dumpster in a North St. Louis alleyway without his shoes or money.

"It kept me weary of my situations," Clayborn said. "Weary of people around me and just keep my circle small."

Clayborn doesn't like to relive the tragedy. He wrote about it last January for the website The Players Tribune. It was hard losing his brother. The event forced him to grow up fast. His mom made him and his siblings promise she wouldn't lose another child. The family moved to the south side of St. Louis and Clayborn joined the baseball and basketball teams to keep him off the streets.

"It definitely helped staying out of the streets, getting involved in sports," said Clayborn.

Clayborn loved sports. He was always bigger. But because of his Erb's palsy, he wouldn't receive his mother's permission to play football until eighth grade. His potential was evident. When you have an ultra-talented teenager, there's always worry that he'll travel down the wrong path, but that never happened with Clayborn. He was a star at Webster Groves and stayed out of trouble, earning a scholarship to the University of Iowa.

"I always tell folks, his mom, Tracie, really did an unbelievable job raising him," Ice said. "He's always been kind of a private quiet guy, but he is very funny. Private and a little introverted. ... He's always been a grounded guy. He doesn't travel with a posse. His friends from high school and college are his friends now. Just a good kid."

Mom was role model

Life wasn't easy back then, but as a child, Clayborn learned a lot from his mother. While growing up, his father, Richard, was incarcerated, so he saw how hard his mom worked to keep his family afloat as a single parent.

Clayborn credits his mother for his success. When he got to high school, he pushed hard to earn a scholarship. When he got to Iowa, it was about pushing to get to the NFL.

"She raised us as a single mother," Clayborn said. "She worked full-time, raised us and brought us to the men we are today. You had no other way to make it work than to work hard. So, put your head down and keep going."

Clayborn's quiet off the field, but has always been loud on it. It was that way at Iowa. He really didn't open up to his friends or dive into sob stories about his home life. Like his mom, he just worked and worked. Clayborn was an All-American defensive end by his junior year.

"We sort of knew he came from a tough background," said Clayborn's friend and teammate at Iowa, Broderick Binns. "We sort of knew kind of where he came from, but he's kind of quiet. The first few years you really didn't hear much from him about the home life, just that he's here at Iowa and he was trying to make a difference for his family."

Along with Binns, Clayborn played on that Iowa defensive line with future NFL players Karl Klug, Mike Daniels and Christian Ballard. Every day in practice, he set the tone for his teammates. He wanted to win at everything. Whether it was running sprints or testing verticals, Clayborn pushed everyone around him.

"It's his work ethic," Binns said. "He always is going to outwork anybody that's in the room with him. That was always his niche and obviously, it's been working for him. ... He's still killing it. I still talk to him to this day. He's still the same guy. ... Money hasn't changed him, all the success hasn't changed him. That's the best part about it."

Perseverance pays off

Clayborn learned plenty of lessons during his first four seasons in the NFL, and they weren't all positive. Selected 20th overall in 2011, his time in Tampa Bay was marred by two season-ending injuries, three different head coaches and more loss.

Clayborn's father was released from prison after he arrived at Iowa and was back in his life for a short time. On Sept. 27, 2012, Richard Clayborn died unexpectedly during Clayborn's second NFL season.

Some say you can use sports as an outlet. For Clayborn, playing helped him deal with the loss of his brother and father, but he admitted it was never easy.

"Yeah, it's an escape. I wouldn't say it helped," Clayborn said. "It gets your mind off of it for three hours or an hour of practice, but as soon as you're out of practice or out of a game, you're reminded of it. But it also helps being around your teammates, your brothers. That helps a lot with the therapeutic aspect of it."

Clayborn learned of the "dark side" of the NFL during his first four seasons in Tampa. He totaled 13 sacks in the two healthy seasons, but the Bucs didn't pick up his fifth-year option and Clayborn went to Atlanta, where he found success. In 2016, however, it almost ended.

After 4.5 sacks in 13 games, Clayborn's season ended due to another knee injury. The thought of doing rehab crushed him. He wanted to retire.

"It's crazy where life takes you," Clayborn said. "I was tired of it. I was tired of being hurt. I'm glad I stuck it out."

After finishing with a career-high 9.5 sacks last year, Clayborn signed with the Patriots during the offseason. This season, he's tied for second on the team with 12 quarterback hits. He's third with 2.5 sacks.

Every time he steps out on that field, Clayborn pays tribute to his loved ones. He doesn't run from the tragic memories. Instead, they're forever tattooed on his body as a reminder. Clayborn has his father's and brother's names inked on his body. Clayborn knows whenever he goes, they'll be with him.

This 30-year-old admits things haven't always been easy, but the events in his life have made him into the man he is today.

"Roller-coaster," Clayborn said. "But it's my journey and I'm going to keep adding to the story."