After the season ended, I was here at the facility, primarily by myself. I'd spend about three hours a day at the NovaCare Complex, but then I'd go back home where I couldn't walk. I had to use a scooter to do everything. That was definitely a low moment. All of my family is back in Texas. They have jobs and their lives, so they can't just drop everything and come up here and take care of me for three or four months.

During a rehab day, I'd come in between 6:30 and 7 in the morning. I'd get in the hot tub and warm my foot up. I'd do foot strengthening exercises for 30-40 minutes, then I'd do balance work for another half hour. That was my day until I could start running. It was a slow process from walking out of the boot to jogging in sneakers, then jogging in cleats to lightly cutting then full cutting.

The Eagles' athletic training staff was great. They understood how serious my injury was. Shireen Mansoori, the director of rehabilitation, put together the calendar for me. We had a timeline of certain dates that we'd want to hit. The training staff did a phenomenal job as far as my timetable. Shireen really cared about me and my injury. She wasn't trying to rush me back out there on the field. The bond between us turned from a physical therapist-player one to that of really good friends.

I've always fought through adversity, whether it was when I was younger and outside of my football life, or when I broke my leg just before the start of my senior season at LSU. But this was the greatest obstacle that I've had to face as far as literally not being able to do anything. You take such basic things like being able to walk for granted. You have to let the foot heal itself. You can't rush anything.

One of the most emotional moments was when I finally got out of the boot and put sneakers on. I was in the scooter for four-and-a-half months. I progressed to the walking boot, but putting on shoes was probably the happiest moment of the entire recovery process. I was super excited. I remember the date, March 7, to be exact. I was dancing in the weight room at the NovaCare Complex.

When Training Camp started, that was tough for me as a football player and as a competitor to still be on the sideline. I'd see guys going out there and making plays. I wanted to get out there, but I knew that if I attacked my rehab, I would be beneficial to the team once I was on the field.

I'll be honest. I did wonder, though, if I would ever get back to the same level of play that I was at before the injury. I had multiple talks with my family about it. What if I couldn't bring that same type of energy? What if I couldn't create those game-changing plays? What if I couldn't be electric anymore? I just thought back to playing as a child, as a 10- or an 11-year-old. Don't make it harder than it needs to be. And once I started cutting and running, I flipped a switch and knew that I would be myself again once I was back out there.

My first practice was the Wednesday of Dallas week. I was super, super excited. I wasn't trying to show it. I wanted to bottle up all of my energy for the game where I could let everything out, but I couldn't even sleep the night before that first practice. My mindset all week was that I was going step back out on the field, and I was going to show the coaching staff from the first play that I'm the starter.