Colts
Colts DE Samson Ebukam discussed his return from an Achilles tear and is happy to get back on the field.
“Honestly, I thought I’d be back quicker, but God had other plans,’’ he said, via Fox 59. “I’m kind of really relying on Him. I’m here for a reason, right where I’m at right now is where I need to be. So, just got to keep going. Yeah, one day at a time is what I’m taking in. We are going to be good for the season.’’
Colts HC Shane Steichen said the team is working Ebukam back in to the rotation slowly, while adding that he was impressed with the way he attacked his rehab this offseason.
“We’re working him back into it from a rep standpoint,’’ Steichen said, “but he’s looked good. He feels good. He attacked his rehab like the ultimate pro in the offseason. It was phenomenal. He was in there at six in the morning every single day, offseason, you name it. So, I’m grateful to see him back out there, going through that injury.’’
Ebukam admitted that the injury lingers in the back of his mind and is still working through the mental aspect of it.
“I mean, every now and then you will (think about it), because of what type of injury it is,’’ he said. “I am not going to sit here and lie to you. At the same time, the more I use it, the more I trust it, the more explosive I’m becoming.’’
Jaguars
Jaguars HC Liam Coen answered questions about how the team will deal with Travis Hunter as he plays both sides of the ball in training camp.
“He’ll go back to defense before our mock game scrimmage and be able to kind of use that mock as an evaluation to see, alright, what do we need to do now? What did it look like in the scrimmage? Do we need to maybe get him more on defense?” Coen said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN after Monday’s practice. “Or hey, these other guys are producing and developing, and we can keep with the schedule as is. That’ll be kind of a, not a defining moment, but an evaluation time for us.”
Texans
Texans DT Sheldon Rankins revealed on Monday that he suffered from viral meningitis and shingles in November, which caused him to lose 50 pounds. The Shingles virus causes painful rashes, while Meningitis is an infection that causes swelling of the protective membranes of the brain and spinal cord.
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Viral meningitis is an infection that causes swelling of the fluid and protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
“I wasn’t myself last year,” Rankins said, via the Houston Chronicle. “I ended up having a shingles outbreak and viral meningitis at the same time. That kind of knocked me out for a while. … A lot of people don’t know I was laying horizontal in a dark house for probably about a month and a half before I could really even sit up. It was really kind of crazy.”
“I was probably down to 255 [pounds]. Lost all my strength, lost all the weight, [my power],” Rankins said of last year. “I worked my ass off to ensure not only physically that I can come out here and play, but mentally I was past a lot of the stuff. Health-wise, I was internally able to kind of check things off my list and feeling great. I know when I feel good I can be a difference maker.”
Titans
- Titans HC Brian Callahan believes quarterbacks can learn more from playing instead of sitting: “There’s no substitute to playing QB in the NFL. There’s so many things when you play the game that you can’t simulate. That part of being in the fire is what helps QBs get better faster.” (Turron Davenport)
- Callahan also explained his confidence in first-round QB Cam Ward: “Cam Ward’s demeanor gives me a lot of confidence he can handle the ups and downs, the adversity in the NFL. His heart rate never changes.” (Jim Wyatt)
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