 So Derek how are you feeling and and for you? I mean as healthy as you've been in your career Is this the first time you've ever had to deal with an injury like this? It was the first time that I got entered during the season and you know had to miss you know the rest of the season So it was definitely different a little adversity But you know just glad that you know I was able to get through it and have my support system and you know Happy to be back Feel that maybe what's your excitement level moving forward? Yeah, you definitely appreciate this game a lot more when you're away from it I've been away from your teammates just having that camaraderie and you know going to want to work every day And why not play on Sundays on each and every week? Definitely miss that and you know Just happy to be back on the pressure of everybody that helped me get to be able to come back and Contribute during the playoffs and I'm just happy to be back playing football After getting that extra contact and practice yesterday Set again the extra contact that you got in practice yesterday. How did you respond to that? How do you feel after that? Oh, yeah, I felt great Um, you know just want to get some pass on have had haven't had them on in a while and get some contact going in I appreciate those guys coming over to Help me do that and yeah, yeah, definitely feel good The toughest part of you know this whole rehab return to play process and maybe what helped you get through that um, no, I love football um I miss all our don'ts as I was five years old and you know, it's what I fell in love with and um, you know, it's the first time something like this has happened and um, you know, just Adversity and just you just got to overcome it and um, thank to you know, thankful for the trainers My girlfriend who was driving me of here five weeks straight when I couldn't drive and um, you know Everybody that you know supported me Titans fans wrote Get well letters. I definitely appreciate that and you know Just you know, just having faith in the man above and you know, just continue to rehab and tea to Get healthy and you know being never has opportunity right here pretty much Indestructible there, you know for the for the first several years the the fact that this injury Has something to do with with wear and tear a little bit too You know, is that is that cause for concern looking forward in terms of the you know The amount of carries and so forth and the load that you can deal with going forward Now I don't think you worry about that. I mean this football is a game of injuries injuries happen and um, you know, you just got to keep pushing forward and Everything happened for a reason now. I'm trying to get into all the what-if's and this and that that and this Just focus on the right now and appreciate the journey and that's all I can do Between your feet that right now in terms of cutting right cutting left playing thing How close are you to the same same on each side? I feel good I may have a big still play on my foot That's only different from the left foot to the right, but I mean I feel good Just you know, I haven't did anything like two and a half months So you know just getting back out there getting acclimated to everything and you know get back to be me You think you can kind of pick up where you're left off I mean you haven't played the preseason a lot so I know people talk about rust Do you feel like you can kind of step back in and be be the dick you were at the start of this season? Well, I mean it all starts out here in the practice field and you know I'm doing everything I can to be ready for Saturday and that's just that's then that's where it starts It's trying to work hard trying to do the best I can to you know been Be the best part can be for this team and try to Contribute as best as I can but you know the work starts out here like it always does Impressive you've been with the job that they've been able to do without you there to get to this point to get the number One see I was definitely the biggest cheerleader No, it was fun watching them You know while I was why I missed playing with them, but did a great job Got stepped in guys who were hungry did a great job running the ball and no overall as a team They did a great job as well And for us to have number one see get about a week and then coming to the division around I'm just a good opponent There because I know that's a big part of that recovery process from injury back playing football That's all it is Getting to all that but what if I can do the help on you know, I'm always for Great job This whole year and I'm watching them. It's the Raiders. I feel like they did a great job I know we got a couple guys that that went down, but overall near the physical Penetrators I'm lying backers They play very well experiencing the back end. They know do do a great job blitzing fast Try to get the ball out and got a great experience a lot of guys who played together for a couple years So we got our hands full and get got to prepare for them this week Taking the first hit on it it in a game. All these questions. I mean, I'm not really focused on that I'm just ready to go out there and play if you sit there and focus on all that Then you're not gonna be yourself Advantage Derek to maybe having fresh legs, you know not having played not having had wear and tear for the last three months Is there a benefit to that going up against? You know, maybe guys who've been playing week after week I would think anybody who hasn't played in two months will you know feel you know pretty good about their body and where they're at so Was that mentally for you? I know you said it was fun watching the Titans play and do so well But also how difficult was that watching your team and being away from your from your organization? Um, it's always hard when you know You go down with the injury and you know the season's still going on and you love football you want to play but You know, just got to work through it. It's all gonna be tough times, you know when something like that happens, but you know What don't break she makes you so That's the mindset I had to just continue to rehab get better To do the best I can to get back on the field You also mentioned your support system how grateful you were to them and for everyone that kind of supported you through these last couple of months How often did your teammates reach out to you and how much did you feel that support from your team? Oh, yeah, they reached out to me every day. Um who Whoever was that takes me for each each game and just just checking up on me I definitely appreciated that and you know my teammates a life family So I definitely appreciated and um was rooting for them while I was trying to get back You mentioned letters from fans. Did you did you get a lot of support mail and did you read a lot of it? Yeah, uh, I got um a pretty good bit of them and I definitely appreciate it for them taking the time out to um Send love and um send get well wishes. Um, that's one of the best fans in the league and um definitely There was heartfelt messages and I definitely appreciated Like back when it first happened like like you said, you've really had no injuries How kind of shocking was it not only to learn you've been hurt but that you might be out for such an extended period of time? Yeah, it was uh It was definitely um shocking Like I said, this is never happened to me. Um my whole career. So It was just you know, I was like, well, you know, can't do nothing about it now Try to go get surgery and um start the recovery process. Let's try to get back as quick as I can Expect to play on saturday. Do I expect to play? See how this week goes and We'll see what I'm at on saturday How about the opportunity that this team has being the number one CA with an opportunity to do something that's You know, never been done around here. How much are you guys looking to hopefully take advantage of that opportunity? um, yeah, you know, we we definitely know it starts out here and um continue to Get better on all three phases um compete And then uh, you're ready for saturday But we have a big opportunity in front of us and we want we want to make sure we stay focused every day in the meetings In the practice field and then let it lead to saturday Last year when you had a home game chance, how much did that Sit with you as the end of that promising season? Yeah, um, you know, not really trying to focus on too much of of last year. You know, that's in the past but um We came out short last year and um, definitely want to do the right things this year so that that doesn't happen