Thanking his parents for what the Bengals training staff calls “unbelievable genes,” cornerback Chidobe Awuzie plans to go from this offseason’s rehab to this season’s Pro Bowl while also taking on a bigger leadership role.
Coming off of the Halloween ACL tear, Awuzie is confident he’ll regain the skills that allowed Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to make him his traveling No. 1 cornerback.
“That’s my plan. I feel like the past two years I’ve been a Pro Bowl player. Honestly, Pro Bowl caliber, whatever you want to call it,” said Awuzie Wednesday, his first day of running on the anti-gravity treadmill. “But the eyes weren’t on me and that’s cool.
“I think my physical capability won’t drop off. I feel confident I can come back 100 percent. And even better.”
Leaving the locker room carrying the book “The Art of Becoming Oneself,” Awuzie is also looking at expanding his already wide berth in the locker room in the wake of the departures of safeties Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell. Bates and Bell were towering cultural figures and Awuzie knows what’s needed and is even prepared to take the lead in those player-only secondary meetings Bell masterminded.
“It feels like the end of world for a couple of days. They’re your brothers, but we are here,” said Awuzie, his locker next to Bates’ empty stall hammering the message home. “I wanted to be able to play the last snaps with my guys. That’s disheartening. The reality of it is hitting me now. It makes you a little more serious that it’s important for me to get as healthy as quickly as I can.
“We came in and Vonn and Jessie set a great stage for us with a platform where we can be the best players we can be. Now that those guys are gone, it’s only right we can take up that torch. The goal every year is to always contribute more, put more on your plate, challenge yourself.”
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