Last year was a frustrating one for veteran tackle Jermon Bushrod, from an injury to losing his starting job to a seventh-round pick.
So it’s natural he thought he might have been at the end of the line.
He signed with the Dolphins this offseason, but admitted he wasn’t sure he was ready to go on.
“I mean, you know, yeah. I did,” Bushrod said, via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “Last year, mentally, was tough for me.”
It was physically demanding as well, as the shoulder injury which cost him a job with the Bears required surgery in February. But the torn labrum and biceps tendon damage are recovering well now, and he was back on the field in a limited capacity Monday.
Now it just remains to be seen where he’d fit in on the Dolphins line if healthy. With Branden Albert and first-rounder Laremy Tunsil, they’re covered at tackle, so he’s going to be competing for a guard job. The Dolphins could use the help there, and Bushrod is ready to pitch in wherever to get back on the field.
After Charles Leno took his job with the Bears last year, he even offered to play tight end for then Bears coordinator Adam Gase, just to get back on the field.
“When you’re in your ninth year and your starting job … when they go in a different direction and you’re not feeling good physically and mentally you’re not in a good place, yeah, [retirement] runs through your mind,” Bushrod said. “But in the last few months I haven’t thought about it. The only thing I think about is getting this thing ready and getting around these guys and getting myself ready to play some ball here.”
“Coach Gase gave me an opportunity. He helped me out along the way. . . . I got hungry again after things didn’t really go my way. Mentally and physically, I had the urge to keep going. . . . I feel good mentally, I feel good physically. I’m in a good place. Whatever happens, happens. I want to win. It’s the only reason I’m here. I’m going into my 10th year. I’m just trying to win again.”
Getting back on the field is a solid first step, for a line which could certainly use some ballast.