The Dallas Cowboys have received a ton of hate from many football fans. This is nothing new, but after hearing how America’s Team gathered around one of their injured players during his journey back to the gridiron, it would be hard to disdain this team as they’re looking to start their season.
Cowboys corner Jourdan Lewis has been removed from football for nearly a year because of the devastating foot injury he suffered when catching an interception against the Detroit Lions. It was a dark time for him, and while getting ready for his return, he fell into a slump that saw him block his friends and teammates out.
To Get Active Or Not Active Is The Question
The cornerback was activated from the PUP list and would not respond to his teammates or coaches’ text messages, DallasCowboys.com reports. Instead of assuming that Lewis quit on himself and the team, they figured he needed some motivation.
Lewis said the coaching staff and a few others visited him at his home to show support for him while he was down and out.
“It made all the difference, honestly,” he admitted. “When I was down, all of the coaches came to see me — [Dan Quinn], coach Al [Harris], coach [Joe] Whitt — those guys came to see me and it just made all the difference. To see they were fighting for me made it easier to go out there and perform.”
That support that he got from his coaches and his peers allowed him to push through his struggles to return to the field. Now his next challenge is if he can pick back up on his movement and instincts against real players on the field.
Preparation
It’s one thing to get your cuts and footwork back against training dummies, but when someone is in front of you running elite routes at game speed, things can come at you pretty quickly, and Jourdan Lewis wants to make sure he’s prepared for that.
“I wanted to be ready for training camp,” he said, per the Dallas Cowboys website. “To get rocking and rolling so I could get some experience against my team. Going into the game week, it’s about trying to get in the fold of things [now and] next week.”
Lewis participated in six games and recorded one interception, one pass defended, and 26 total tackles in the 2022 season. He hopefully looks to play a full season with a loaded Cowboys defense this year.
