Lions CB Khalil Dorsey ‘all smiles’ in return to practice field after grueling rehab

 The road back from a broken tibia and fibula was much longer than Detroit Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey initially believed, but upon getting back to the practice field on Monday, one of the fastest players on the team said it finally taught him to slow down in life.

Or something like that.

"I started watering my grass," Dorsey said when asked what he learned about himself through the rehab process. "My grass was dead. I really can't walk that fast. With the grass, it's not like a sprinkler, it's a hose. So I'm walking slow. This is my pace, but I'm enjoying (it). I'm just glad to be able to walk, feeling the sun, touching some grass. You know what I'm saying? I found that out, if that counts."

In any case, Dorsey said he's tracking toward being available in Week 1, when the Lions open their season at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers. If he does make it back in time, it'll be a nice reward for the difficult journey. Dorsey's injury occurred in December of last season, when his leg collided with that of teammate and linebacker Ezekiel Turner while defending a route over the middle of the field during a Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Dorsey said he wanted to quit the rehab process "multiple times" but leaned on a support system that encouraged him to keep going.

"I put in a lot of work," Dorsey said. "I just wanna thank the trainers for helping me. I feel like there was a point in time I wanted to stop, but they were just always giving me positive stuff. Then all my coaches, all my teammates, they were more like friends instead of just teammates. ... To be honest, I thought this (recovery) was going to be a lot faster, but it wasn't."

Dorsey admits he's still feeling a little bit of pain — "It's going to hurt regardless," he said — and he was wearing a soccer shin guard on his right leg on his first day back. Over the last few weeks, he slowly acclimated by performing his workouts with a weighted vest on, hoping to simulate the feeling of wearing shoulder pads.

At the start of his recovery, the pain was excruciating. He needed to wear a Game Ready leg sleeve — basically a portable iced compression system — just to be able to fall asleep.

Rehabbing from an injury in the NFL is not just a physically exhausting process; it's also mentally draining. Dorsey specifically thanked assistant athletic trainer Andres Armstrong. The two worked together every day, with Armstrong offering perpetual words of encouragement through a grueling process.

"He gave me nothing but positive things. If I said something negative, he tried to flip it, saying like, 'Yeah, it may hurt, but you're able to do it right now. You weren't able to do it before,'" Dorsey said.

Following a season-ending injury to cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr., the depth he brings to Detroit's room is a welcome sight. And as the Lions prepare to start playing games that count, his ability as a gunner should be a significant boost to the special-teams unit, too.

“Dorsey is huge," Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said on Tuesday. "This guy is one of the great gunners in the game of football right now. Obviously, getting him back is outstanding.”

Monday's return was the start of his new beginning — but it was also a reality check.

"I thought I was in shape, and then I did those reps and I was like, 'Oh, my goodness,'" Dorsey said.

Still, the chance to be back doing what he loves was worth the struggle.

"I think it was all smiles today," he said. "I'm just glad to be back. That's it."