Colts

Colts veteran DT DeForest Buckner sustained a neck injury that eventually required surgery and forced him to contemplate whether he wanted to continue his career. He had no feeling or strength in his left side due to a herniated disc in his neck that was pressing against a nerve. 

“I found myself in some deep, dark thoughts about what am I going to do?” Buckner said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “The first couple of weeks, you can’t really do much. I mean, I couldn’t even pick up my own kids for a little bit. I couldn’t pick up… anything heavier than 10 pounds. And that was for a while.”

“What happened to him was difficult, but he’s the hardest worker I know and he’s putting all the time and effort in to get back on the field with his teammates,” Colts HC Shane Steichen said of Buckner. “Obviously, we’ll be smart with the situation, monitor him through training camp. I know the goal is to be ready for Week 1, and so I know he’s working that way and we’ll see where it goes.”

“It would mean a lot to win here,” Buckner concluded. “From Day 1 since I got here, this organization invested in me. And I’m going to do whatever I can to give back. And that’s by my play and making sure that we get wins. And that’s been my goal since I’ve been here.”

Jaguars

Jaguars DB coach Anthony Perkins said he was excited to see DB Caleb Ransaw return to the field after missing his whole rookie season due to injury.

“He didn’t flinch. That was the best thing that I saw out of him,” Perkins said, via SI. “Obviously, when it happened early in training camp last year, nobody was fired up to hear the news, him being at the forefront of that. But to his credit, not one time have I seen him in this building with his head down with any sort of woe is me mentality. Like no, not one time has he felt sorry for himself, not one time was he dejected or kind of removed.“

Ransaw has the opportunity to carve out a role and be a difference-maker on the team’s defense this year if he continues to progress.

“So he’s done a tremendous job, did a tremendous job all of last year, and continue to do so over the course of the spring, he’s got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, knowing that he lost out on the year, knowing that he lost out on all those reps from last year,” Perkins said. “So I know that he’s shown up this spring with a certain mentality, but I can’t say enough good things about him as a person, as a competitor, and how he approached a really unfortunate situation last year.“

Titans

Titans DL Jeffery Simmons said, following the signing of a massive three-year extension to remain in Tennessee, that his sole focus was getting the team back to winning championships.

“Tennessee has become a second home for me,” Simmons said, via Titans Wire. “From day one, this organization believed in me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue to pour into this franchise and community. I want to thank God, my family, my teammates, Ms. Amy, and the entire Titans organization for believing in me. My job isn’t finished. I believe in this locker room and this staff, and I’m focused on helping this team get back to competing for championships.“