A year ago, Tracy Walker wouldn't have responded well to being moved to the bench. A longtime starter in the Lions' secondary, he admits he "would have been a lot more pissed off." That was before a torn Achilles cost Walker a season of football and afforded him a new perspective: "Life is 10 percent what happens to you," he said, "and 90 percent how you respond."
Walker is set to reprise his role as a starting safety for the Lions after they lost C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a torn pec. And while he hates it for his teammate -- "His energy and enthusiasm is definitely going to be missed," Walker said -- he's hungry for a moment almost exactly a year in the making: 364 days after Walker was carted off the field in Minnesota, he'll be patrolling the secondary again in Detroit.
Forgive him for being giddy. He's already thinking defensive introductions Sunday at Ford Field.
"It's going to be very emotional for me," Walker said Wednesday. "It’s going to spark some emotions and some feelings, but I still gotta go out there and play ball. But I'm gonna be so happy to fly around. Y’all gonna see 21 back out there, and 21 gonna make a lot of plays."
No. 21, Walker made so many plays in his first season under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes that they immediately re-signed him to a three-year, $25 million deal. He was one of the players they wanted to build around. And the Lions were the team he wanted to play for. After surviving the mess of the prior regime, Walker said at the time, “I didn’t want to go nowhere where things have already been up for teams. I wanted to be part of that change."
"I’ve been here four years, I’m tired of losing in Detroit," Walker said. "And the coaches feel the same: they’re tired of seeing Detroit be a laughingstock in the NFL."
Walker was intent on changing that. Then he collapsed last season in a Week 3 loss to the Vikings, and the Lions rebuilt their secondary this offseason. While Walker made good on his word to be back on the field for the start of OTA's, he was pushed out of the starting lineup this summer by the combo of Gardner-Johnson and rookie Brian Branch. It wasn't that Walker was playing poorly; it's that the other two were playing so well.
A former defensive captain, Walker never sulked. He admits it "wasn't the best situation," but he knew he'd have a role on the team one way or another. He also knew he had an obligation to his teammates, many of whom had voted him a captain last season: "They rely on my energy, they rely on my feedback, even when it comes to the game plan." Walker took his demotion in stride and said Wednesday, "I'm a team player. I’m going to support whatever decision the coaches make."
"Even when they made the switch to put Chauncey with the 1’s, every day I was reminding and telling myself that I’m still a key guy and a key component to this team, and they’re going to rely on me one of these days because this is football. Injuries are going to happen and it’s the next man up," Walker said. "So I gotta capitalize in my opportunity right now."
Walker, 28, says nothing has been lost in his recovery from his injury. In fact, he believes he's "better than when I got hurt," having grown mentally and physically in his time away from the game. Sunday against the Falcons is his first real chance to prove it. If we see him swoop in and break up a pass, or lay the wood in the open field, or come flying through a gap on a safety blitz, we'll know that Walker is back.
"It's a special week for me," he said. "I’m a very spiritual man, I believe in God very (deeply), and I just feel like this is all God’s plan. He took me away from the game last year at this time and he’s bringing me back into the game in this situation."
Walker hasn't just waited a year to regain his role. He's waited five years to play on a winner in Detroit. This is year six. With a win on Sunday, the Lions will be 2-1. What a time to call on 21.