Bills’ Tre White details darkest and brightest moments of rehab, and how OBJ helped

Описание: Orchard Park, N.Y. — Tre’Davious White couldn’t break himself out of the slump that went on for months after he tore his ACL on Thanksgiving last football season. Faced with a grueling rehabilitation and the first major surgery of his life, White was inconsolable for some time. “It was a very hard, very depressing time,” White told reporters on Wednesday in his first press conference in more than a year. “Locked up in my basement … guys from the (training staff) had to come drag me out of there.” When White finally emerged, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He’s always had a sport to play. Football, basketball, and then track in the spring. That’s been the cadence for more than 20 years before football became his full-time focus. When faced with the realization that football was gone for awhile, White - an All Pro cornerback for the Buffalo Bills defense - decided to seek a different space as he began his work to rebuild his body. He read more books and wondered about his purpose without football. “I just noticed I got more to give to people then knocking a pass down and intercepting a ball,” he said. The Bills activated White off the reserve/PUP list on Tuesday and coach Sean McDermott isn’t ruling him out for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. White spent 11 months “redoing” his body from the ground up to get back to this point and can finally reclaim his football life. Reflecting on the journey back, White said that some time away from the game came with a few perks. He finally had more time with his children that football forced him to sacrifice in the past. In a 2018 interview, White said that during seasons he left parenting duties to his sons’ mother so he could focus on football. He’d spend hours and hours breaking down film in the same basement that served as a cove of depression in the wake of his injury. With the Bills forced to move on without White last season, his children were waiting for him when he finally made it out of the basement – on crutches. Tre’Davious Jr., White’s oldest son, was there to ask dad if he was getting better when he finally didn’t need the crutches anymore. As soon as he could walk normal, it was time for some hide and seek. And White cherished every minute. “My kids, man, are the number one thing to me,” he said. “It was hard for them to see me down. They got me through it, every day seeing them, good day or bad day, walking through that door. I’m still gonna be dad and they still gonna love on me.” When he wasn’t with Tre’Davious Jr. and Tristen, White was leaning on old and current teammates to help him work his way back. He spoke to Micah Hyde often, who lifted his spirits whenever he was feeling down. He also reached out to Odell Beckham Jr., who is also in the process of rehabbing back from a torn ACL – the second of his NFL career. Beckham gave White tips on the how to deal with the days that were “kicking my ass.” The cornerback thanked Beckham Jr. by sending the free agent wide receiver about 2,700 Bills emojis to recruit the former LSU superstar to Buffalo. “Odell, he’s a good friend of mine,” White said. “I’ve been knowing him since 2013. Played with him at LSU my freshman year. He was the reason why I moved from receiver to defensive back, him and Jarvis (Landry), because I wasn’t gonna get on the field my freshman year.” White is set to return to a Bills defensive backfield littered with young talent. Both rookie cornerbacks Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford have held down the fort and allowed the team to take its time bringing White back. Dane Jackson started in place of White last year and has been a stabilizing presence in 2022. When White does get back on the field, he isn’t telling the Bills when or how much he’s going to play. He’s going to leave it to the trainers and coaching staff to figure it out. “They know what’s best,” White said. “They know if I’m ready to go out full go, they know when that is. (I’m) Just trying to get my body back into football shape and getting back into the football mind.” When White ran back onto the practice field for the first time three weeks ago, he admitted that he forgot the entire stretch program the team goes through before every practice. It’s been so long since he’s done everything on a football field. He’s trying to get back in the routine of practice, communicating with the defensive terminology, and going to meetings. The struggle has been real at times but he said rejoining his team is a blessing. “The first couple of days to get back out there and to stretch with my teammates, to hear the music with my