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Though Eric Wood can finally say he’s retired Authentic Daniel Kilgore Jersey , the now-former Buffalo Bills center is unaccustomed to discussing his career in the past tense.
On Monday, for example, Wood was still referring to this spring as ”the offseason,” while attending Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly’s charitable foundation golf tournament outside of Buffalo.
”It’s so funny. I find myself referring to it as the offseason and we’re making travel plans that aren’t slotted for just the five weeks off in the summer,” Wood said, referring to the break players traditionally get between the final spring practice and the start of training camp.
”It’s different for sure,” he added, while discussing his retirement for the first time since being diagnosed with a career-ending neck injury in January.
”I feel great,” Wood said, noting he’s already dropped about 55 pounds from his 310-pound playing weight.
”The body feels good. Can’t play ball, which stinks. And I miss it Cheap D.J. Fluker Jersey ,” he added. ”There’s been a lot of times this spring where I’ve seen pictures posted and you think, `Well, that’s my team.’
“But, it’s all good.”
Wood never envisioned his playing days would end so abruptly nine seasons into his NFL career, and after signing a two-year contract extension last summer.
Instead, team doctors ruled he would never be allowed to play again after end-of-season tests revealed Wood had two disks being dangerously close to his spinal cord. Wood received the news while he was in the delivery room with his wife, and about an hour before the birth of his second child, a son.
”It was shocking,” he said, noting his first reaction was to seek a second opinion. ”But ultimately there was no scenario for return to play.”
Wood revealed the severity of the injury during a news conference in January. He was not, however http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-rashaad-penny-jersey , allowed to say he was officially retiring due to contractual issues that could have prevented Wood from retaining his bonus money until the Bills finally released the 32-year-old on Thursday.
He hasn’t yet laid out any future plans, though Wood will always be a Bills fan after being selected by Buffalo in the first round of the 2009 draft out of Louisville.
Wood is following the team online and in social media. He laughed over the uproar on Twitter amid reports rookie first-round draft pick Josh Allen threw an interception during practice last week.
A respected team leader, one thing Wood will miss is mentoring younger players.
He also expressed concern regarding good friend and former teammate Richie Incognito, who has had a tumultuous offseason. Incognito abruptly retired by posting a note on Twitter before the Bills granted his request to be released to potentially sign with another team weeks later.
Then, Incognito spent three days in a Florida mental hospital after he allegedly threw weights and tennis balls at gym employees and another patron and told police officers the government was spying on him two weeks ago.
”He’s going through a tough time right now,” Wood said. ”We’re praying for him, and I know he’ll come out of this a good man.”
On the bright side, Wood has come to terms with how his career ended and the consolation that it happened after a season in which the Bills snapped a 17-year playoff drought. His final game was a 10-3 loss to Jacksonville in an AFC wild-card playoff on Jan. 7.
”Yeah, that playoff berth was very sweet,” Wood said. ”It would’ve been very tough my career ending and not ever making the playoffs up here.”
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Marcus Mariota ran to his right, looked to pass and found nobody open. So the Tennessee quarterback pump-faked Authentic Rasheem Green Jersey , darted left and flew past rookie linebacker Harold Landry III.
Yes, Mariota is looking very healthy in the opening days of training camp.
And the quarterback isn’t wearing a knee brace either. It’s a perfect combination for Mariota learning yet another new offense with his third different head coach. A healthy Mariota gives the Titans the chance to maximize their offense with the quarterback going into his fourth NFL season with the team already having picked up his fifth-year option for 2019.
”To have the opportunity to go out there and get reps physically, it’s so pivotal for me,” Mariota said Friday. ”You know, I’m definitely a reps guy. I’m definitely a mental guy, so when I’m out there, and I get the opportunity to practice, it means the world to me, and I think that being healthy has just given me that opportunity.”
Mariota came to Tennessee in 2015 as a Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 2 pick overall in the draft with Ken Whisenhunt as his first head coach. That relationship ended with Whisenhunt fired in November with his quarterback missing two of the first seven games with a sprained knee.
Mike Mularkey took the job for the rest of that season with Mariota missing the final two games after spraining his other knee. Mariota has missed only one game each of the past two seasons with the Titans going 9-7 in each, but the quarterback broke his right leg on Christmas Eve of 2016 . Mariota missed a loss in Miami last season after hurting a hamstring.
Mariota led the Titans to their first playoff berth since 2008 and first postseason win since January 2004 last season, and he put on a show once there.
He became the franchise’s youngest quarterback to win a playoff game Korey Toomer Color Rush Jersey , rallying the Titans from an 18-point deficit to beat Kansas City with the second-largest comeback by a road team in NFL postseason history. Mariota became the first quarterback in league history to complete a pass to himself in the postseason, catching a batted pass for a touchdown .
But Mariota ranked 30th with 3,232 yards passing last season and tied for 26th with only 13 TD passes leaving plenty of room for improvement.
Capitalizing on Mariota’s skills prompted controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk to fire Mularkey after a divisional playoff loss in New England and hire Mike Vrabel as his replacement . Vrabel hired Matt LaFleur, who also interviewed for the same job, as his offensive coordinator to install a scheme to maximize what Mariota can do both throwing and running with the ball.
”Who else is there that we would rather have than Marcus as our leader?” wide receiver Taywan Taylor said. ”He’s the engine to this offense. He’s so poised and confident, we feed off him. He’s been our guy, so we’re looking forward to it.”
On Friday, the Titans signed two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan to a five-year extension to keep protecting Mariota. They also signed three-time Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker through 2020 to keep a favorite target around.
The biggest key for Mariota has been time not wasted this year on recovering from yet another injury. That has allowed him to work with his wide receivers throughout the offseason. He also hasn’t missed a snap as the starter during the offseason program or so far in training camp.
Mariota also has been practicing without a knee brace, perhaps the biggest sign of just how healthy he feels. Whether that continues in the regular season remains to be seen.
”Honestly, I’m not really even thinking about it …,” Mariota said. ”Looking back on it Youth Preston Brown Jersey , it was a long journey, and I’ll never take any of that for granted, so when I’m out here, I have an opportunity to get better with these guys, I do enjoy it.”
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