Thomas Davis sheds knee brace

[jtnc]

 

 

CHARLOTTE – Linebacker Thomas Davis believes the knee brace he's worn the past three years has slowed him down.

Now that he's shed it, there may be no stopping him.

"I can just go out, redirect and play fast," said Davis, who sported his new look at the first day of the Panthers' three-day mandatory minicamp Tuesday. "I'm to the point where I feel very confident and comfortable with it right now. I'm out here moving around really well, and I'm just excited to be out here."

Davis wasn't yet wearing a brace four summers ago, when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee for the second time in seven months. He had worn one for every practice and game since, including when he injured the knee a third time early in the 2011 season, but decided in conjunction with the training staff to ditch the brace last month.

His knee looked as good as new last season, when Davis racked up a career-high 151 tackles.

"I have no concerns about his knee and the stability of his ACL," head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion said. "He's always had great strength, but I still wanted to protect his knee for the first couple of years back. But now we've got two-plus seasons under our belt, and he's confident and has great stability and strength in his knees, so he's able to pull it off now. He's super-happy about that."

While Davis has never hidden his disdain for the brace, he said there's no way he'd take the field without it if the training staff didn't approve. With the nine-week offseason workout program ending this week, Davis' top priority for the team is to take a safety-first approach.

"Really, the most important thing that can come from these three days is guys staying healthy," Davis said. "We've installed a bunch of our defense and offense, and guys know what to do.

"Now it's all about coming out here, being smart, taking care of your body and making sure you're healthy going into training camp."

This means an even FASTER Thomas Davis, watch out NFC South. 

http://www.panthers.com/news/article-2/Davis-excited-about-shedding-knee-brace/5608c408-5f75-4398-b473-778c1fac2de1

[YoungPanthers89]

I read the title as

 

 

"Thomas Davis shreds knee"

 

Whew

[PantherWake]

The title scared the poo out of me at first glance

[Rockahype]

Man after three ACLs that seems brave.  

 

[jayflip]

Yeah holy sweet cheezus crust that thread title made my heart stop.

You are a bastard.

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[Jangler]

This will be more scary than watching Cam pass to a whole new receiver core lead by a rookie

[lola]

My heart went into a fib for a second. Lord.

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[mattnasty919]

I was half expecting a Forrest Gump gif lol. This is great and frightening to hear.

[beckersteen]

topic title, scared, etc

[PandaPancake]

I heard they actually replaced his whole leg with cybernetics. But the NFL frowns on cyborgs in the league.

[Ricky Spanish]

I would never remove the brace for the rest of my playing days. 

 

That's just me though.

[SevyDamus]

Saw this last night & it scares me to death. The doctors signed off on this & I will pray everyday he can stay healthy. Scares the poo out of me though. TD of all people we cant loose, the mental toughness he brings can not be easily replaced.Now imagine this he said it slowed him down & look at the year he put up. I can only imagine what he can do at full speed.

Pray we get to see it.

[Hammerin'Cameron34]

Please stay healthy. If he's going to be even quicker this year, wow. Just stay healthy.

[jtnc]

I know the brace provides SOME stability but he injured his last two ACLs with it on...