Bryan Cox Jr. has seen firsthand the highs and lows of professional football and is now determined to make his return to the sport.
The 28-year-old has wrapped up three days of Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie camp, the most football he’s played in some time.
“I’ve been at home for two years since my last time being at camp,” said Cox Jr. “It just means the world to me being able to just get out of the house, run around and play the game I love again.”
Undrafted after four years with the University of Florida Gators, Cox Jr. spent four seasons in the NFL playing 26 career games between the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills.
It was during his time at Bills mini-camp that the defensive lineman suffered a devastating Achilles tendon injury, effectively sidelining his burgeoning career.
“I’m a football player,” said Cox Jr. “I’ve been playing football since I was six years old, so it’s just like riding a bike. I haven’t done it in two years, like I said, but getting back out there just felt great.”
Now with a clean bill of health, Cox Jr. has been able to get back onto the field after signing a contract with the Roughriders earlier this month to compete for a spot on the defensive line.
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“He’s got good energy,” said Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson. “He was one of the guys I was referring to that hasn’t put pads on in a few years. We think he’s a good fit for us, we’ll see how he does when the vets come in. But so far, so good.”
Cox Jr.’s combination of energy, size and speed has caught the attention of Dickenson and his coaching staff in the days since his first practice.
“You got to give him a lot of credit,” said Dickenson. “Most guys by this point have been injured at one point or another. So, guys that come back from things like that – I have nothing but respect for them.”
Helping Cox Jr. along in his journey back to professional football has been his father Bryan Cox Sr., who is currently a defensive line assistant with the NFL’s New York Giants.
A three-time Pro Bowl linebacker with the Miami Dolphins in the 1990s, Bryan Sr. also won a Super Bowl championship in 2002 as a member of the New England Patriots.
Learning from one of the NFL’s top defensive players of his time, Cox Jr. hopes those lessons, and his own time in the NFL, will turn into a fruitful career north of the border.
“He always gives me little golden nuggets here and there since I was a kid,” said Cox Jr. “So, just small things here and there. He always tells me what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong, even in high school he coached me. It was always something pleasant.”
The intricacies of the Canadian game have been a learning experience as well for Cox Jr., such as starting one yard off the line of scrimmage.
At the end of the day, however, it’s simply football – something that has been missing in his life for far too long.
“Everything, it’s our way of life and it’s how we eat,” said Cox Jr. “So, it’s everything.”
Cox Jr. will be heading to the Roughriders’ main training camp next, which begins Sunday at Griffiths Stadium.
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