How did it feel to be back at
practice and how do you generally feel we feel good to be back? Garden
has been a long time. So it's always good to be back out there
with the guys. One of the last nine months been like for you just we know rehabbing trying to
get back healthy standing shape keeping my mentally into the
game and we're doing everything that I
can to get back out there. My timeline is correct. We haven't
talked to you since before they change the diagnosis
of your injury you have any ill will towards the Giants that
they did they didn't know what your original injury was no ill-will whatsoever. The X
training staff has done everything. They can to help me get back healthy just can't help or misdiagnosis.
I mean things like that happen. It's nobody's fault or your reaction when you found
that out of it wasn't a spraying yet to go get surgery
who doesn't know the things I won't have to overcome. Yeah, nothing about I was gonna
have to overcome how much have these months and
months tested you. I mean quite a lot. I mean it was the
first time I've ever been injured. You know what I'm sayin
to that extent first time getting surgery right into the way I'm built for
it. I feel like I have came back stronger. So if anything I feel like it
helped me, how much were you doing out there today? I just thought about doing
individual drills kind of knocking the dust off taking the
cobwebs off and get back into it. They've obviously moved Jermaine
tilt right tackle. How do you look at that? And the job
fact the job isn't waiting there for you anymore. Whatever role that the team has
for me. I'm going to embrace it. So whether that's starting not
starting I'm going to contribute to the team and you
won't do everything in my power to do so high-level contributor
though and be you know, high level athlete
high-level competitor high draft pick. I'm sure you feel
like you deserve to be starting though. I mean, I'm not old anything and
I can't feel like I deserve anything. I mean all I want is
what I work for are you playing catch-up? Do you feel you're catching up
since everybody's got a three-week start. I mean
that's not something that I
think about because that's not
something that I can control this control. Like I dress every
day. The rehab process that you'd feel good one day, but
then the next day you feel right and
kind of kind of rolled that role goes to a little it's kind of tricky especially
with it, you know being a bone you can't really do anything,
you know, two of them other than just let it heal. So,
you know some days I go out and their
feel really good, you know other days, you know, not as
good so but I feel like I've been
feeling as of lately, you know, just consistent enough to be
able to go back out there and I'll contribute to the team so
that's where I'm at. Brings it look like you are
progressing and then they shut you down. Yeah, I mean, like I
said in the spring, which is one of
those things like they decided to back off me because I was
having more days where I wasn't filled feeling. Well then days
in the woods feeling good. So it just kind of decided to just
back up off me. Diagnosis, what? What did you I'd come back from ankle.
Surgery January said are you are you surprised it
took this long? Because generally and Ankle surgery those of us who don't play
football think it's going to be a fairly Swift recovery and yours was not
everybody's different. I'm a large man. I put a lot of
pressure a lot of weight on my ankle. Everybody's body is different. I
mean nothing's natural about it surgery, you know getting cut
open so your body's going to have a different response or
there's not a cookie cutter model in terms of, you know,
winter players going to be back on. Not only book. What's this process just been
like to deal with emotionally and I'm trying to navigate. I mean, it's another thing. I'm
going to have to overcome. I mean obviously that's not
something that you know, I wanted to happen. I mean, I'm
just not going to worry about the
things that are out of my control. You know, what I can
control is how I approach every day continuing to get healthy
continuing to refine my skills and do everything that I can to
contribute to the Team One Way or Another and can you work but during an
offseason. Can you work on the mental aspect of handling
the pressure of playing in this market? The ups and downs is
that anything that you put time into like maybe how you approach
paying attention to certain things or I mean in this business and it's
not working especially in the city pressure is going to be
there. But I mean that's not something that you know, I think
about because that's not something that I create. So at the end of the day like
I'm just going to focus on you know, controlling what I can
control my attitude know how I approach the game, you know
going out there and playing as well as I can. So to me the
pressure really doesn't exist. You got shut down or your told you needed that
surgery and it was a Sure, what were the emotions at that
point is I'm sure you were looking to try and get back on
the field to put better tape on that just took us back to that.
Like I said, I mean it definitely kind of like call me
by left field. I mean really, you know everybody because it
was something that initially, you
know, Connor wasn't seen on the initial scan, but I just knew it was going to
be another thing that I'm going to have to overcome. I mean that
was something that was out of my control. So I'm just gonna
have to deal with it the best way that I knew I would
the time we attach something or to clean up.
Up loose particles or how would they how do they describe
it to you? I'm not a doctor so I can't
really describe it in depth and I got cut open. I'm going to
sleep for it. So career took off when his ankle
got right. Yeah the two surgeries and then it took off have you talked to him about
that and you use that as kind of an encouraging blueprint? I
mean not so much about his, you know career taking off or
anything like that after the surgery, but I do talk to
him, you know all the time just
in terms of like on you know, how he got his ankle
back. Goethe some of the things that
he would do and you know, maybe doing his rehab
process as well with some of the hurdles or the obstacles that
you know he faced and you know, he give me some of the best
Insight that he could Bad timing is bad timing, but
it's halfway through your rookie contract to do you how do
you look at? How would you describe your first two years?
And do you look at this as a pivotal point in your career? I mean, yeah, it's a big year
for me. I'm not going to sit here and act like it's not but I didn't
do the day, you know the past two years. They weren't perfect by any
means but you know, I feel like there was solid. I mean they
definitely weren't you know
what, you know, I want them to be but a lot of things that
happened were just out of My control so just like the
future, you know is out of my control. I can only control the
present, you know, and how I approach every single day and that would be a big
indication of my future in the seasonings to play better. What was your reaction when you
heard him say that that's his opinion. I mean that's his job
to evaluate the players and you know, if he thinks I need I need to play better then. I mean, I'd be the first person
to tell myself that I need to play better. So I really don't
know how to really come out of jewels mouth anybody's mouth.
But you know, I'm always going to be you know,
the Harshest critic on myself. So we need to play better. Yeah, I
need to play better. You should you do anything if they said they guard did you
play guard? Like I said, whatever role that
I'm after doing it to me want to embrace it, you know to the best of my
ability.