Just when Lions fans finally started to see some positive light shining on cornerback Teez Tabor and his future with the Detroit Lions, a nagging injury has all but burned out the promising shine.
The third-year cornerback was off to a flying start in training camp. After two underwhelming seasons, in which the 2017 second-round pick could barely get on the field despite serious depth issues at cornerback, Tabor looked invigorated. He was making plays and showing savvy in route recognition. His work with former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson was paying off, it seemed.
And then he had a rough practice session. I wrote about it from Allen Park, dismayed that all the progress was a mirage.
It turns out Tabor had a valid reason for his bad day of practice. He suffered a leg injury, one which has kept him on the sidelines ever since. The Lions and Tabor himself have not elaborated on the nature or severity of the injury. But when the Lions take the field, he’s been spotted wearing a large wrap around his upper leg ever since.
His frustration with the untimely injury is obvious.
“I mean, I love the game of football,” Tabor told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I wish I could do this every day. I wish I could play till I was 40, 50 years old. And you get so accustomed to it that it becomes regular, and when you can’t play or when you’re not out there, not that I take anything for granted because I don’t never take a practice or anything for granted, but you just don’t know till you’re not out there and then you want to be out there, so you’re a little mad. If you wasn’t mad, it wouldn’t mean anything to you.”
Tabor knows his lack of availability puts his future with the Lions firmly in doubt. The general consensus was that he needed a strong summer to earn a spot after two seasons that left everyone wondering how in the world he was a second-round pick. Tabor allowed a perfect passer rating when targeted in 2018, after all.
If he doesn’t get back on the practice field before the end of preseason, it seems certain Tabor will spend 2019 either on the Lions’ injured reserve or looking for another NFL team.
