Bengals Cornerback DJ Ivey on Health and Possible Timeline Return to Games
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00:00I feel like I could be back probably like a month and a half ago, but it's just waiting.
00:05It's just waiting on the best time for me.
00:07I'm just excited to be back.
00:12Do you think you can make a difference on teams right away?
00:15Of course. I feel like I can make a difference wherever the team needs me.
00:18They want me on special teams, on defense, offense, wherever they need me, man.
00:22I feel like I can make a difference.
00:24Was it as a gunner when you tore it in that Minnesota game?
00:29Yes, I was running down on a gunner.
00:31Was it contact?
00:32It was non-contact.
00:34Literally, I was going to make the tackle, and as I was making the tackle, it happened.
00:38It seems like all the guys are excited for you being back. How are you feeling?
00:43Oh yeah, they're definitely excited. They're hyping me up all day.
00:47I'm feeling very, very well. I'm feeling good.
00:50I'm just excited to be back and help this team improve.
00:55Did they give you an indication this was coming, or did this kind of get accelerated when Dax went down?
00:59I kind of think it got accelerated when Dax went down, but after my four games went by,
01:05we had talks about how everything moved forward.
01:09When Dax went down, it just kind of proceeded everything much faster.
01:13How are you?
01:14I'm doing well. Wonderful.
01:16I'm doing wonderful. Blessed to be here, so I can't complain.
01:19Everything feel normal?
01:21Everything feel normal, 100%. Just getting back into the groove, getting back into feeling back to me.
01:28Have you ever enjoyed a practice more?
01:30Nah, I don't think I enjoyed a practice more.
01:33It felt great. It felt like first day of school again when I was back in elementary school.
01:37Like I said, I'm just excited to be back out with the guys.
01:41How challenging have the past 10 months been?
01:44It's been challenging, but it's all a mindset.
01:48Coming to work every day, coming to rehab, that's my game day.
01:52Just taking it head on each and every day, that's what helped me the most.
01:57It was very challenging, especially at the beginning stages, coming out of surgery and stuff like that.
02:03We all good, though.
02:05That's been a tough stretch for the team so far.
02:07What is the feeling or vibe like in the locker room right now?
02:12Everybody's in good spirits.
02:14We just want to move forward to Sunday's game and make a statement Sunday night football.
02:19The only thing we can ask for now at this point is to get another win and just keep moving forward.
02:24How close to Christmas was the surgery?
02:27About 9 days.
02:329 days after?
02:34No, 9 days before Christmas.
02:36I got hurt the 16th, so 9 days later was Christmas.
02:40You had surgery right away?
02:43I got surgery January 4th.
02:46I just had to wait for the swelling and for my quad to gain its muscle back a little bit like that.
02:52Then I went into surgery, and July 4th was my official date for surgery.
02:57July 4th?
02:58Yes, definitely.
03:12For more information visit www.FEMA.gov