Well that’s just impressive. New Orleans Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander confirmed that he’ll be suiting up to play against the Green Bay Packers in his team’s Week 1 matchup — less than a year removed from his Achilles injury on Christmas Day last season. That’s a span of about eight months, or 37 weeks, or 256 days, to be more precise.
“Yeah, I’m playing this week for sure,” Alexander said on Monday during a brief media availability session.
These Achilles tendon injuries have ended careers before, but Alexander’s diligent work in recovery and advances in modern medicine have allowed him to bounce back. Hats off to him.
Still, it’ll be fascinating to see how the Saints deploy their linebackers on Sunday. Last year, the Saints started Alexander in their nickel defense next to Demario Davis, and that figures to be the move again in 2021. While he never got on the field in their two preseason games (and Davis only played a handful of snaps himself), he should remain on top of the depth chart along with Davis.
What’s even better is that Zack Baun, a second-year pro who quickly turned heads this summer, is waiting in the wings. Maybe the Saints run a little more base defense to get Baun on the field as a strong side linebacker, but then they would have to sideline C.J. Gardner-Johnson, an impact defender in his own right from the slot. It’s a good problem to solve.
“I feel legendary,” Alexander grinned, using his signature catchphrase. “It’s time to get to it.”
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