The Patriots offensive lineman returned to the practice field on Wednesday.
New England Patriots offensive lineman Cole Strange returned to the football field this week. It was the next step in a long process back from the torn patellar tendon he suffered last season.
Part of that process? Learning how to walk again once a cast was removed that held his leg stuck at 180 degrees.
“It was crazy,” Strange told reporters on Thursday. “I felt like a baby deer. It was awkward as hell. The only thing that goes on with it is just doing it. Walking with crutches and then walking without them. Forcing yourself not to limp — not to go onto the right leg. It’s not the same, but it’s kind of the same with football. It’s just doing it.”
Strange was off the football field for nearly a year, as Wednesday’s return to practice marked his first action since suffering the injury Dec. 17 last season. Through the time off, Strange found new perspective for the game.
“Man, it’s been a lot longer than I wanted it to be. Honestly, it’s been really tough and very aggravating,” Strange said. “It’s been a good perspective. Obviously I would never have wanted this to happen, but the silver lining is I think it gave me a very good perspective and more so appreciative of where I am. I feel very good going forward. Everything I had to relearn to do — walk even. Squatting, running, jumping. It felt very awkward at first. I just kept hammering away at it and I feel good. I’m confident the same thing will happen with ball.”
“I’d say I learned that I just need football more than I thought I did,” he added. “I’ve always loved it but not having it, I just did not like that at all.”
In Strange’s first practice back, the 26-year-old admitted he felt awkward going through individual drills. The practice tape afterwards, however, looked better than he thought in live time.
Strange was not ready to put a timeline on his return to game action, but will provide New England a versatile option up front when ready. On Thursday, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt noted Strange’s ability to play all three spots along the interior before mentioning his “center qualities.”
Despite only playing guard in New England, Strange has minimal experience at center from his time at college and during the Senior Bowl. He has also been working drills with the injured David Andrews behind the scenes to help learn the position.
“I felt pretty good about it, but the only way to get better at that is to do it,” Strange said. “I do sit in the meetings and envision myself making the call as quick as I can. But you have the bird’s-eye view, so it’s different being out there and it’s different whenever you’ve got the cadence you need to remember, you’ve got the play, and also the check, and you got to remember it all and do it like that. But I’ll figure it out. I just gotta get some reps at it.”
Before his injury last season, Bill Belichick shared the former first-round pick was playing his best football since entering the league. That made the injury that much more aggravating for Strange, who is now hoping to regain that former moving forward.
“It was very frustrating because I felt the same way. I felt like for the first time, being in the league, I kind of gotten into the swing of things,” Strange said. “My rookie year, I felt like I got better, and at the end of the year, I was playing better. Then last year, I was injured on and off throughout the year. But then at the end I felt like it kind of clicked with me. So, it was extremely aggravating. But it is what it is and here we are.”