Bills safety Donte Whitner has had a rough season. He suffered a thumb injury in September that caused him to miss two games, and when he returned, he promptly suffered a high ankle sprain that has caused him to miss two more.
Whitner is back to practice this week, but he’s still not sure if he’ll play on Sunday. And he says that makes him feel like he doesn’t belong.
“It’s very tough,” Whitner said, per the Buffalo News. “You almost have to pull yourself out of a funk every now and then because a lot of times when you miss a lot of time you feel kind of worthless. You’re just around watching practice, watching film, talking to guys in the training room, but you’re not actually out there putting all the work in.
“It’s not like I want to be out injured. You don’t want anything that’s going to be prolonged or anything that’s going to be career- or season-ending. I’m just thankful I don’t have that. I have an opportunity to maybe play the next eight games of the season and I’m looking forward to it.”
If there’s any silver lining for the Bills, it’s been that Whitner’s absence has opened the door to more playing time for rookie safety Jairus Byrd, who has played well and is tied for the league lead with seven interceptions. But the Bills want to have Whitner back on the field, and Whitner clearly does too.
He should stay on the bench. Byrd, Wilson, and Scott are all better than he is. At least Wendling is good as a gunner. Whitner is good at talking, tweeting, fighting, and supporting Ted Ginn, Jr.
ummm…i’m not quite sure what the point of this story was. Are you simply trying to tell us that a guy would rather be playing than injured? Cuz i think that is pretty much a given lol
He could be playing for Washington. Then he would really feel worthless.
I don’t object to Whitner being back but I don’t think he brings anything more to the secondary than what they already have and Byrd is clearly better….
With Byrds INTs, he would likly stay at FS and Whitner would move to SS. But the problem is that i think Whitner was moved to FS because he kept missing tackles while playing SS…
Still, hes better than whoever the bills would have been playing at SS.
What a coincidence. I feel like Whitner is worthless too.
hows the stuttering, nervous DB rookie in buff doing?
There’s a reason Whitner feels worthless…HE IS!
Go support ron mexico some more. He’s in the same category as you, worthless.
Whitner and Byrd will be a great safety tandem. For those who think that Whitner was moved to FS because he was playing poorly at SS, this is absolutely incorrect. He was moved from SS to FS, because Ko Simpson was not giving the Bills what they needed at FS. The team of Whitner (FS) and Scott (SS) was better than Simpson (FS) and Whitner (SS).
I’ve often wondered how on earth these guys pull themselves out of such things as (1) devastating injuries (Brady) involving long months of rehab, concerns about being replaced or cut); (2) excessive probing into their personal lives (Romo), or relationships gone wrong (girlfriends, agents, coaches); (3) being on a team that is hyped, only to have a devastating fall (Jets, Green Bay), and so on.
Developing the kind of toughness required to pull yourself up from stuff like that, is surely an important part of being a player in the League.
with whitner, byrd, mckelvin and mcgee, the bills secondary should be very good next year. now all we need are 3 linebackers, a defensive end, defensive tackle, quarterback, wide receiver, general manager, head coach and an owner. It’s almost too easy.