Jets WR Quincy Enunwa tells Rich Cimini of ESPN that heโs still holding out hope of resume his NFL career, despite the career-threatening neck injury heโs dealt with the past few years.
โIf Iโm capable of playing, then thatโs what Iโll do,โ Enunwa said. โIf it comes down to the fact that the doctors say I canโt, thereโs not much I can do. Thereโs really nothing I can do there, but if I have the ability to (play), the passion will always be there, the want-to will always be there.
โI think, aside from obviously my neck, the physical ability will always be there. Itโs really just about me going for the ride, I guess, because Iโm not in control of that part anymore.โ
Enunwa missed the 2017 season due to a neck injury that required surgery. He returned the following year only re-injure his neck in the season opener last season.
โThereโs really no one to blame,โ he said. โItโs one of those things. If I couldโve had a crystal ball and told myself โฆ this was going to happen, I probably wouldโve done it the same way. Thereโs nothing really I regret or Iโm upset with anybody about.
โI think everybody tried to handle it the best way that we could. Thereโs no way to have prevented this other than not play football, and I donโt know if I wouldโve been as happy if I made that choice.โ
Enunwa stressed that he believes he can still play, despite all the time heโs missed.
โThe passion I played with, thatโs never left,โ Enunwasaid. โI think if everything goes the way I hope it goes, itโs still going to be there for me. My physical ability has not left. Iโve just been kind of like slowed down, hampered, you know? Iโm doing my best to work around those limitations that I have. Again, that passion is not gone.โ
Enunwa, 27, is a former sixth-round pick of the Jets back in 2014. He played out the final year of his three-year, $1.995 million and made a base salary of $615,000 for the 2017 season before returning to the Jets on a one-year restricted deal worth $2.914 million.
The Jets re-signed Enunwa to a four-year, $36 million deal which included $20 million guaranteed last year. Heโs been paid $6 million this offseason and is owed $4.1 million in injury guaranteed for the 2021 season.
In 2019, Enunwa appeared in one game for the Jets and caught one pass for -4 yards receiving.
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