Dan Campbell knows how Jeff Okudah's feeling. The Lions head coach dealt with some brutal injuries in the latter stages of his career, missing all but three games in his final three seasons. Okudah will miss the rest of 2021 after rupturing his Achilles in Detroit's season-opening loss to the 49ers.
"I hate that for him," Campbell said Monday. "He put in a lot of hard work and really improved a ton from spring until now. I hate it for him first, and I hate it for us as a team because he was really coming around."
The third overall pick in 2020, Okudah seemed poised for a breakout in 2021. He was healthy after battling multiple injuries as a rookie, his mind was in a better place, and he made a strong impression in training camp under new DC Aaron Glenn and new DB's coach Aubrey Pleasant. Now he'll have to wait for 2022 -- and who knows how he'll look on the other side of one of the most devastating injuries in football.
"Look, it’s tough," said Campbell. "As someone who was injured a lot as a player, I think the hardest thing is that you know you’re in the training room again. What you gotta be careful of is that you don’t let it bring you down and let it ruin your day and you don’t sulk about it. Because ultimately, it’s the hand you’re dealt and what are you going to do?"
From the moment Okudah undergoes surgery, Campbell wants the 22-year-old to pour himself into 2022. Campbell said he texted with Okudah Sunday night and will meet with him Monday afternoon to convey this message.
"What are you going to do to prepare yourself for next year? That’s going to be my whole conversation with him, is that your sole focus has to be on 2022 and how do I get back from this?" Campbell said. "We’ll have the surgery, and then everything has to be about the rehab again because there’s no other way to treat it. There’s no other way to react to it. It’s the only way he’s going to get better."
Okudah has been down this road himself. He spent most of last offseason rehabbing from core muscle surgery that ended his rookie campaign after nine games. He found peace in Stoic philosophy and motivation in confronting his flaws from year one. Then he lost the season to another injury, this one worse than the first.
His response in 2022 will go a long way toward determining the rest of his career.