"That's a tough injury – a tib-fib fracture is a big injury," Vermillion said. "(Assistant athletic trainer) Kevin King was there first, and Kevin did a great job of stabilizing it and straightening it out.

"We put him in the air splint, and then what was great for me was to receive the help that I received from his teammates to get him off the ground and onto the cart."

Seymour was among those helping out – in that moment and for many more moments to come. Cockrell, picked in the fourth round of the 2014 draft by the Bills, was already playing in Pittsburgh when the Bills picked Seymour in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. But whenever Seymour studied film in Buffalo, he paid special attention to Cockrell.

That continued during the duo's rehab process.

"Kevon and I spent a lot of time together," Cockrell said. "Kevon is a very positive guy – always laughing, always smiling – so that helped me a lot as well. He's a guy who has gone through ups and downs in the NFL just as I have, so we were able to bond over those experiences as we rehabbed."

Cockrell's rehab started surprisingly quick. He was injured on a Sunday, had surgery the next day and was able to put weight on the leg the next day "as pain allowed." Tentative steps with crutches slowly but surely became confident strides, and by the end of the regular season Cockrell was running on the sideline during practice.

He was medically cleared when players had their exit physicals the day after the season ended and said if the Panthers played today, he'd be good to go.

"That's a good definition of where I am," Cockrell said. "There are definitely things that I need to work on – it was an extensive surgery with a few screws and a rod put in my leg. Every step that I take, every run, every jog, I'm very thankful to be back here and to have the opportunity to contribute to this team.