Q: You have missed a lot of time...how rusty would you expect to be Sunday if you had to start?
A: I expect to knock all the rust off before Sunday. It's going against a team like the Eagles, and just our competition and the way we play each other, you can't have rust and expect to do well. I'm going against Cole and he's a great football player. If I come in there without my full game, he won't say, ‘Oh you're coming off an injury so I'll take it lightly.' He's going to give me everything he has, and in return I'm going to do the same.
Q: Are you ahead of schedule in your rehab?
A: No, they gave me eight to 10 weeks. It's a broken bone, and the bone has to heal itself. I got the OK that the bone was healed, so there have been no excuses. If the broken bone and the bone can heal, it's not that I'm dealing with any lingering effects or anything like that, I'm good.
Q: Last week, were you good to go just as the extra tight end or good to play on the line as well?
A: They wanted to put me in and do some full speed contact. In practice, with the way we practice, it's not really that full speed, full go. They wanted to see a little bit out of that, so that was last week's preparation.
Q: In hindsight, how important was it to be out on the field last week?
A: It's been in my mind that I already went out there on the field and I did have a few snaps at full go. So I'm not thinking in the back of my head that I haven't come off of an injury fresh and I haven't done that, because I have. I'm looking at it as that it's the beginning of the season, not that I've been out for eight weeks. It's the start of my season, I'm fresh, I have an advantage on him because he had a longer season.
Q: You're coming from a handful of snaps to a whole game...isn't that a big thing to take?
A: As a backup, that's what you expect and that's how a backup role works. They use you when they need you. It's not the first time that I go from not playing in a game to playing a full game.
Q: You haven't been practicing for a few weeks prior to this, though, and that's different:
A: It is, but I still have been in meetings. They made sure I went to every meeting so mentally, I've been each week with the team. Physically, I'm going on two weeks with full practicing. It's still full practice, full go.
Q: Physically, how do you feel right now?
A: Physically, I feel good. I have no sores, bumps, or bruises. You see guys walking around limping and think this is the start of the season for me. I'm ready to go, and my foot's healed. I don't go out there and practice saying "I broke my foot, I need to be careful." The Lord blessed me to put me in this position, and I feel great.
Q: So you haven't done much physical work then?
A: During rehab, when I was off, we were doing as much physical work as we could without trying to injure or set me back. I've been running, doing a lot of pool work, exercising. It's not like I haven't been moving or I haven't been working out, I haven't been going one-on-one against full go live.