OWINGS MILLS — Baltimore Ravens starting cornerback Domonique Foxworth’s right knee betrayed him in late July as it buckled under his weight during a drill one day before the official start of training camp.
His knee was shredded in the non-contact practice. A torn anterior cruciate ligament ended his season before it ever started as Foxworth had surgery to repair the damage almost two weeks later.
Now, Foxworth is on the comeback trail and is sprinting, squatting and jumping again. If there are offseason minicamps, which depends on the unresolved labor situation, Foxworth says he would be able to participate without any major restrictions.
"I’m doing a lot better, and I could play right now if I had to," Foxworth told Ravens24x7.com in a telephone interview. "Could I have played if we had made it to the Super Bowl? I don’t know if I would have been better than the people we had, so I don’t know how great I would have done. Sometimes, you think you’re doing better than you are. I’m doing really well, though. The knee feels great."
The former University of Maryland standout said he has regained most of his speed since tearing up his knee, but still has more work left to do to make a complete recovery.
"It’s getting close, I feel pretty close," Foxworth said. "I’m not back to the fastest I’ve been, but I feel good. I haven’t worked out this hard in a long time. You get so caught up in the technical parts of the game that an injury like this will humble you quickly. I’m back to all of the old fundamentals that you take for granted."
Foxworth has been doing the bulk of his rehabilitation work at the Ravens’ training complex, running and doing drills inside their indoor practice bubble to get back his change of direction and mobility.
"We’ve got a top-of-the-line organization and facilities," said Foxworth, who previously played for the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons. "We didn’t have that everywhere I’ve been."
Foxworth said the health of his knee is a testament to the medical skills of renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, who operated on him Aug. 10 in Birmingham, Ala.
Andrews also performed the ACL surgeries for Ravens cornerbacks Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington.
"It feels great," Foxworth said. "Everybody says he’s the best in the business."
As an NFL Players Association executive committee who’s involved in the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations, Foxworth said he has already made contingency plans if a lockout commences and he’s not allowed to work out at team headquarters.
"Absolutely, I think most of our team has already figured that out," he said. "I probably will stay local."
When Foxworth first hurt his knee, he predicted that cornerback Chris Carr and the secondary would excel during his convalescence.
And he was right as Carr emerged as the Ravens’ most consistent cornerback and Baltimore finished 10th in total defense.
"I’m very proud and I’m fine with puffing my chest out," Foxworth said. "A lot of people speculate who don’t know much, honestly. They’re not as close to the game as we are. It’s hard to know this team if you’re not a part of it. I wasn’t surprised. It took us a while to get to where we wanted to be. By the end of the year, we were playing pretty well from what I saw."
The Ravens promoted secondary coach Chuck Pagano to replace outgoing defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, who went to the University of Michigan.
"I can’t put it into words how happy I am for Chuck," Foxworth said. "I think he’ll be a great defensive coordinator. He and Matty worked together to some degree, so I don’t think it will be that tough a transition. Some of the experience he got back there with us, he’ll see the whole defense from that vantage point. It’s a passing league, so it’s smart to go with someone who worked with the secondary."
