It still sounded like a thank you letter to the fans, coaches and teammates who have embraced him while watching him grow from 21-year-old second-round draft pick in 2018 to senior statesman. With the top of his locker stuffed with 2022 game balls, Bates wondered aloud what the heck else he’d find if he has to clean out five years worth of stuff.
“Lou came in when I was a knucklehead thinking I could make every play in the game. The amount of detail work that he taught me. I used to go home, like, ‘Man, this new DC doesn’t like me. This dude don’t like me at all,'” Bates said. “He pushed me. He pushed me to levels that coaches never have before, and that’s all you can ask for as a DC, and out of the coach is to challenge you every single day.
“And I think he did that. To watch what he created, the culture that he created in our defense room, I’ll be able to take that maybe somewhere else. I’ll be able to take that and be a father. I’ll be able to do multiple things with the stuff he taught me on the football field. It’s an emotional time for me to speak about that. But I’m thankful for him.”
The next day after the last game is always about injuries, too. Right guard Alex Cappa (ankle), who was injured in the last minutes of the regular season, confirmed the plan was to play in the Super Bowl, which would have been sweet for a guy who had to sit out the Super Bowl his Buccaneers won in 2020. Yes, he says. He’ll be ready for the spring.
But not No. 1 cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who tore his ACL on Halloween in their last loss before Sunday. He has no idea about his timetable and although Joe Burrow won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year last year when he got back for training camp after a November injury, Awuzie knows all knees are different. He also said he’s going to stick in Cincinnati to rehab.
Defensive lineman Joseph Ossai’s knee buckled on the play that was flagged for a late hit, but Taylor wasn’t aware of any MRI results yet. And Burrow’s wrist that he looked…
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