Injuries ‘frustrating’ rook Smith
Rookie wide receiver Devin Smith has been a spectator for most of training camp, and he is getting tired of it.
Smith broke three ribs and suffered a slightly punctured lung after getting kneed in the back by a teammate on the second day of training camp. He has been sidelined ever since.
“It’s very frustrating for me because I’ve never been out this long,” Smith said Sunday, “and this is the first time something has been broken on my body. So it’s kind of made me depressed a little bit, but just being here and seeing the guys compete and everybody has positive energy, it keeps me up.”
Smith said at first he was having trouble sleeping. He was propped up in a hospital bed because he was unable to lay flat. Smith, the team’s secondround pick out of Ohio State, said the injury has been eyeopening for him.
“It’s just made me realize just how blessed I am to be out here,” Smith said. “There’s not many people who get an opportunity like this to come out and play in the NFL. I got that shot. For me, the sky’s the limit and just keep on working.”
The original timeline from doctors was fourtosix weeks for Smith to be out, which is right around the start of the regular season. Smith said he is hopeful to be back for the season opener, but it’s up to the trainers and doctors.
Coach Todd Bowles has been upset this summer has not been hotter for his first training camp with the team. Bowles scheduled practice for the middle of the day, hoping to roast the players into shape.
Now that temperatures are in the 90s, is he happy?
“It’s getting there,” Bowles said on a day that featured two fights. “Tempers are flaring, so I guess it was a little hot. It could be a little hotter.”
Safety Calvin Pryor missed practice after there was a death in his family. Bowles said he will probably be out “quite a few days.” Pryor may be unable to play in Friday’s preseason game with the Falcons if he misses too much practice. Jaiquawn Jarrett got the reps with the first team with Pryor out. … Veteran offensive linemen Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson were given a rest day, getting to sit out all team drills.