Kamu Grugier-Hill stood there on crutches talking about how lucky he was.
Because when he first got hurt? He thought his season was over.
When something like that happens, you think the worst," he said. "I'm so blessed it wasn't anything serious in that aspect. It's going to be like any other injury, you've got to work back into things, but I'm very confident I'll be back to myself very soon.
Grugier-Hill, the Eagles' fourth-year starting outside linebacker, suffered a sprained knee during practice on Saturday and is out indefinitely. He said he doesn't know how much time he'll miss, but he's confident he'll be back sooner or later.
"I'm a quick healer," he said.
Grugier-Hill has gradually grown from a Patriots castoff trying to make the roster as a special teamer in 2016 to a starting linebacker this summer who was enjoying an exceptional training camp.
"I'm a little frustrated, just on the fact that I feel like I was having a good camp, I felt like I was truly getting the rhythm of things, proving myself to be a true starter," he said after the Eagles' open practice at the Linc. "Unfortunately this is the game of football, but I'll be back soon. We have a special team and I'm super excited to be a part of it."
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Grugier-Hill started 10 games last year, but he was at his best down the stretch, as the Eagles won five of their last six games going into the postseason.
Listen to Zach Ertz on Grugier-Hill:
He's a playmaker, he's had a heck of a summer. I don't think anyone knows the true length (he'll be out) right now, I think god's going to work in mysterious ways on this one, but Kamu was making plays. He's had an interception it seems like every day. The dude is just so athletic as a linebacker. He's got a different gear than everyone else I feel like on the football field at that position, and I think he just really laid his foundation of what's going to happen when he gets back. Injuries are part of the game and you never want to see them happen, but I think we avoided the big one.
Grugier-Hill said this is the most serious injury he's ever suffered. His streak of 40 consecutive games played going back to the middle of 2016 is fourth-longest on the team, behind only Malcolm Jenkins (85), Jason Kelce (78) and Nelson Agholor (42).
Yesterday I was super frustrated about it, but … I'm going to come back even better than I was at the beginning of camp," Grugier-Hill said. "You think about people like (Brandon) Brooks. He's going to have an amazing year just because of the amount of rehab he's been doing. I can of think of it like that. I'm going to be pushing myself to limits like never before so I think I'm going to be better than even I was at camp, which is exciting for me.
Grugier-Hill will almost certainly miss some regular-season time, but everything points to him getting back onto the field early in the season.
Even if he's out for two months, he'd still be back by Week 5.
It's not ideal. But it could have been a whole lot worse.
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