ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions missed the playoffs in 2013, which meant players were free to head to the nearest beach and start sipping umbrella drinks once the regular season ended.

But not Ryan Broyles.

The receiver had suffered a third consecutive season-ending injury -- this time a ruptured Achilles tendon -- and was committed not only to returning to health in 2014, but staying that way.

So he headed to familiar territory: Oklahoma.

Broyles hails from Norman and became the NCAA's all-time leading receiver for the hometown Sooners. He headed back home this offseason to undergo two-a-days for most of January.

And February.

And March.

And -- yep, you guessed it -- even April.

General manager Martin Mayhew said earlier this offseason that Broyles attacks rehab harder than just about any player he has ever seen, and that regimen has Broyles closing in on a full recovery.

He participated in the Lions' first round of OTAs this week, both at receiver and kick returner. And that was enough to put a smile on his face.

"I'm gettin' right, man. I really am," Broyles told MLive after Wednesday's practice. "(Rehab) is not fun. It's not anything I wanted to have happen. But I just got to be smart, at the end of the day.

"I'm always a positive person. Everything happens for a reason, and this will be a good testimony for me years on. Just got to continue to work, and whatever comes my way, I'll continue to attack it.

"But it sure is good to get back out here and play football again."

Broyles is well on his way to a full recovery, but it's unclear what kind of role he'll have once he's back.

He was used primarily in the slot under former coach Jim Schwartz -- running 70.3 percent of his routes there in 2013, and 64.2 percent as a rookie in 2012.

But now the Lions have drafted first-rounder Eric Ebron to play primarily in the slot. And then they drafted sixth-rounder TJ Jones to compete for time there as well.

That position has suddenly become crowded, which could curb Broyles usage there.

But as Jim Schwartz might say, he ain't scared.

"I just got to worry about me," Broyles said. "At the end of the day, I got to focus on what I need to work on -- especially my Achilles and my strength and things like that. I'm just worried about me right now, and that's all I can be worried about, to be honest.

"I'm looking forward to the competition. It's never scared me away. But at the end of the day, we're here to win. They're going to put guys in place to help us win."

Mayhew is unsurprised that Broyles has made an expedient recovery.

"He's one of the hardest-working guys I've ever seen in terms of rehab," Mayhew said. "He's just outstanding. I'll tell you a quick story. I think it was last year. The guys have a rehab schedule, and he had a thing on his schedule that he was going to be out for a week or so. Unlike anybody ever before that, he called me and said, 'Hey, I'm going to be in Haiti on a mission trip. Is it OK for me to go and do this or should I stay here and rehab?'

"So, that's Ryan Broyles in a nutshell. I believe in him. I'm not going to build a whole offense around him, obviously, but I believe in that man."