Davis said he has full use of his right hand and is not anxious about the broken arm affecting his ability to do his job on the field.
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Davis was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2015, an honor he and his nine Panthers teammates had to bypass to prepare for the Super Bowl.
“I’m excited about where I am right now”, said Davis in his first interview since Monday’s surgery. “And neither is the Super Bowl”. If there’s a guy who knows how to rehab an injury it’s Davis, and he was in high spirits in Thursday’s post-practice locker room.
Davis said the surgery to fix his broken right forearm included the installation of 11 or 12 screws and a metal plate.
Davis is so optimistic he will win his fitness race, he has taken to fighting back teammates who grab his injured limb. “But it’s feeling a lot better so I kind of retaliated and told them to try me now”.
In that case, Andrew said Davis’s arm should be braced, which will limit arm rotation. Now in his 11th season out of Georgia, Davis collected 105 regular season tackles, tied for the third-highest total of his career, as well as 5.5 sacks, a new best.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera also expressed confidence in Davis’s chances to face the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. “Again, I’m not doubting Thomas”, Rivera said before taking a couple seconds to realize where he just went. “And I think the answer to that would be ‘Yes he can'”.
The Panthers’ linebacker has yet to get on the practice field since the injury and Blackmon did say that Davis said they are still working on a few things to protect his arm.
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While there are still some concerns, Davis seems determined to get back in time for the game, and with the dedication he is showing, he may just get there after all.
