Emmanuel Sanders said that when he received the news that he tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago, he was kind of nervous.
“Obviously, you hear you've got COVID and it's like, you kind of cross your fingers, right?” He said. “You don't know how your body is going to react. You may think you may know, but still there is that little voice in the back your head that says: ‘what if it doesn’t?’”
But after quarantining, Sanders returned to the Saints this week and said he’s “ready to roll.”
“I've been working out since Monday, the moment I was able to get back into the building, the Saints were like, we've got to put you through a ramp up period. So I've been working out. Yesterday, I felt like I was getting back into rhythm and then today I felt like I found my groove,” he said. “And so looking forward to tomorrow and Saturday, just keep getting better and get my body ready to play on Sunday."
Sanders said he had several symptoms of the Coronavirus following his positive test, including a fever. He said that he mostly just stayed in bed and slept during the first few days following his diagnosis.
“And then when it started to clear up, like I think that I was like six days, I just had to just watch Netflix and just chill with my wife really and do nothing,” he said. “I started a show called Schitt's Creek and finished that in like three days.
“And thank God I had that show because it kind of entertained me and then I started reading a book, I read Matthew McConaughey's book and just found ways to entertain myself and also just found ways to try to get a workout in as will as far as doing pushups and sit ups around the house, hopping in my pool taking a swim.”
Sanders, who'd tallied a career-high 12 receptions the week before his positive test, said he felt very anxious to return while watching New Orleans play the Chicago Bears Sunday.
“I missed the first game and I was like, okay, but then that second game really took a toll on me,” he said. “I wanted to get back to work and help the guys win. But now, I've got an opportunity Sunday versus a big time opponent in Tampa Bay, and we've got to go out and handle business."
The Saints opened the season with a win vs. the Buccaneers in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, but Sanders said New Orleans realizes the challenge it's facing in a Tampa Bay defense that’s “playing some good ball.”
“They are playing well together. Antoine Winfield Jr. is playing really well. I think just as an overall defense, they are playing really well. I mean, their linebacker corps is probably the best linebacker corps in the league right now in just how they're playing, right? They have a number one defense in the league right now for a reason and so we've got to go out there and exploit it."
Kickoff at Raymond James Stadium is set for 7:20 p.m. Sunday.
