- Messages
- 4,604
- Reaction score
- 0
Jaylon Smith 'definitely not limiting myself' in effort to come back 'as soon as possible' for Cowboys
By Kate Hairopoulos
OXNARD, Calif. -- Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith knows what question is coming. What he and nobody else knows is when he'll be able to give a different answer.
When will the nerve damage in the second-round draft pick's knee heal, allowing him to return to the field?
"As soon as possible," he said Monday morning at training camp. He was still dripping with sweat after working out with resistance bands, off to the side from where the Cowboys worked on special teams. "I'm definitely not limiting myself. I have all my trust into the physicians and trainers. They're taking care of me. As soon as possible. Whether that's this year, next week. As soon as possible. That's when I'll be back."
Smith wore a brace on his left ankle that he said extended into his shoe and helps him walk.
The former Notre Dame star continues to be relentlessly positive as he goes through rehabilitation from the knee damage suffered in the Fiesta Bowl. It is doubtful he will play in 2016. He is on the active/nonfootball injury list.
Smith said he is getting his strength back and has been able to increase both lateral and vertical work. "Everything is getting a lot more natural," he said. "But it's just controlling what I can control -- and working my butt off."
Smith said the Cowboys can check the progress on his nerve whenever they like but referred medical questions to the team doctors.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Smith is making strides and relationships with his teammates, but the challenge is staying engaged since he can't practice and his return to the field is unknown.
"When he's not directly engaged with the team," Garrett said, "he has to keep himself engaged -- in meetings, when he's involved in a walk-through setting, to be able to watch that and see what's going on and learn as much football as he can from the position that he's in. Line 1 is for him to get healthy. He's working very hard at that."
Linebacker Sean Lee said that he sees the rookie trying to learn.
"Jaylon right now, he's like a sponge," Lee said. "It's a matter of time for him."
By Kate Hairopoulos
OXNARD, Calif. -- Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith knows what question is coming. What he and nobody else knows is when he'll be able to give a different answer.
When will the nerve damage in the second-round draft pick's knee heal, allowing him to return to the field?
"As soon as possible," he said Monday morning at training camp. He was still dripping with sweat after working out with resistance bands, off to the side from where the Cowboys worked on special teams. "I'm definitely not limiting myself. I have all my trust into the physicians and trainers. They're taking care of me. As soon as possible. Whether that's this year, next week. As soon as possible. That's when I'll be back."
Smith wore a brace on his left ankle that he said extended into his shoe and helps him walk.
The former Notre Dame star continues to be relentlessly positive as he goes through rehabilitation from the knee damage suffered in the Fiesta Bowl. It is doubtful he will play in 2016. He is on the active/nonfootball injury list.
Smith said he is getting his strength back and has been able to increase both lateral and vertical work. "Everything is getting a lot more natural," he said. "But it's just controlling what I can control -- and working my butt off."
Smith said the Cowboys can check the progress on his nerve whenever they like but referred medical questions to the team doctors.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Smith is making strides and relationships with his teammates, but the challenge is staying engaged since he can't practice and his return to the field is unknown.
"When he's not directly engaged with the team," Garrett said, "he has to keep himself engaged -- in meetings, when he's involved in a walk-through setting, to be able to watch that and see what's going on and learn as much football as he can from the position that he's in. Line 1 is for him to get healthy. He's working very hard at that."
Linebacker Sean Lee said that he sees the rookie trying to learn.
"Jaylon right now, he's like a sponge," Lee said. "It's a matter of time for him."