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INDIANAPOLIS – DeForest Buckner admitted he’ll be a different football player than the veteran All-Pro defensive tackle was even a year ago. The 32-year-old suffered the most debilitating injury of his NFL career, one that had him contemplating the very real possibility that his playing days may be over.
That he’s back, though, should be proof enough to his teammates and Colts fans alike that Buckner will give it his all in 2026, which marks the final year of the two-year, $46 million deal he signed two years ago.
“You guys know me. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to help my team and be out there with my guys,” Buckner told reporters Tuesday, his first media availability since undergoing surgery for a herniated disc in his neck that led to a pinched nerve and sidelined him for seven of Indianapolis’ final eight games last season.
The campaign, Buckner’s 10th in the NFL, marked his fewest games played (10) and the second-consecutive season he’s played 12 or fewer. Over the first eight years of his career, Buckner never appeared in fewer than 15 contests and had played in all 17 for three years running entering 2024. The injury in question cropped up during the Colts’ Week 9 road loss in Pittsburgh, and days later, he could hardly do a pushup, the strength on the left side of his body had so deteriorated.
The Colts captain underwent stem cell treatment in Panama during the team’s bye week, and he returned for a Week 16 contest against the 49ers before deciding the pain and discomfort was too much to labor through without more significant treatment.
“You’ve got to make sure you’re not risking things that could really hurt you in the long term. Last year, it just got to the point where the only option was surgery, and I’m really glad I did (it),” he said. “Obviously, when things like that happen, I found myself in some deep, dark thoughts on what I was going to do, but just with talking to the people closest to me through all those emotions, now I’m in a good space where I wanna be out there this year, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to be out there by Week 1.”
Buckner said Tuesday he was unable to even lift his two young sons and infant daughter for weeks following the procedure; he’s only just begun running this week.
“(Rehab) really has just been about a lot of patience. In the first couple weeks, you can’t really do much,” he said. “The doc said I couldn’t pick up anything more than 10 pounds, and that was for a little while, but I finally got some clearance to do some lifting and get some strength back.
“I’m feeling good right now with where I am in the rehab process, and everything’s trending toward training camp.”
When that time comes though, he said, this injury will have left some lasting effects on the 2020 1st-team All-Pro defensive tackle.
“The way things are going, technique-wise,” he said, “I’m going to have to change some things here and there.”
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: DeForest Buckner is targeting a training camp return but as a different player
Continue reading...
That he’s back, though, should be proof enough to his teammates and Colts fans alike that Buckner will give it his all in 2026, which marks the final year of the two-year, $46 million deal he signed two years ago.
“You guys know me. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to help my team and be out there with my guys,” Buckner told reporters Tuesday, his first media availability since undergoing surgery for a herniated disc in his neck that led to a pinched nerve and sidelined him for seven of Indianapolis’ final eight games last season.
The campaign, Buckner’s 10th in the NFL, marked his fewest games played (10) and the second-consecutive season he’s played 12 or fewer. Over the first eight years of his career, Buckner never appeared in fewer than 15 contests and had played in all 17 for three years running entering 2024. The injury in question cropped up during the Colts’ Week 9 road loss in Pittsburgh, and days later, he could hardly do a pushup, the strength on the left side of his body had so deteriorated.
The Colts captain underwent stem cell treatment in Panama during the team’s bye week, and he returned for a Week 16 contest against the 49ers before deciding the pain and discomfort was too much to labor through without more significant treatment.
“You’ve got to make sure you’re not risking things that could really hurt you in the long term. Last year, it just got to the point where the only option was surgery, and I’m really glad I did (it),” he said. “Obviously, when things like that happen, I found myself in some deep, dark thoughts on what I was going to do, but just with talking to the people closest to me through all those emotions, now I’m in a good space where I wanna be out there this year, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to be out there by Week 1.”
Buckner said Tuesday he was unable to even lift his two young sons and infant daughter for weeks following the procedure; he’s only just begun running this week.
“(Rehab) really has just been about a lot of patience. In the first couple weeks, you can’t really do much,” he said. “The doc said I couldn’t pick up anything more than 10 pounds, and that was for a little while, but I finally got some clearance to do some lifting and get some strength back.
“I’m feeling good right now with where I am in the rehab process, and everything’s trending toward training camp.”
When that time comes though, he said, this injury will have left some lasting effects on the 2020 1st-team All-Pro defensive tackle.
“The way things are going, technique-wise,” he said, “I’m going to have to change some things here and there.”
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: DeForest Buckner is targeting a training camp return but as a different player
Continue reading...
