Love of Football Brought Packers Star Rashan Gary to Tears
GREEN BAY, Wis. – After tears of pain and heartache and struggle, there were tears of joy for Green Bay Packers star Rashan Gary.
On Aug. 7, about nine months after suffering a torn ACL at the Detroit Lions, Gary was activated from the physically unable to perform list.
“They told RG that he could finally do individual drills but he couldn’t practice [at full participation], and he started crying,” cornerback Rasul Douglas said on Thursday. “That’s just how much invested he is to football and what it means to him. When you’ve got guys like that, you always want to be a part of that with them.”
True story, Gary said on Friday.
“I’m a very emotional guy,” Gary said a couple days before Sunday's game at the Atlanta Falcons.
Gary is the heart and soul of the team. After pouring every ounce of energy into his comeback, that his emotions bubbled over didn’t catch him off-guard.
“I really can’t say I was surprised because when you work so hard to achieve goals and check off things on your list and you’re able to, you should be emotional,” Gary said. “Just being back out here with the guys and being back a part of this team out there on the field and being able to contribute is all I wanted to do. So, you get a little bit emotional.”
Gary is a unique player, and not just because of the powerful presence he brings to the defense. Few players care as much as Gary. Football consumes him. Always has. Always will. There have been a lot of talented players who’ve come through Lambeau Field who haven’t had that burning desire to be great. There have been a lot of journeymen players who’ve lacked the talent to be great.
Rashan Gary after the Packers beat the Bears.
Photo by Mark Hoffman/USA Today Sports Images
Gary is the merger of talent and drive, passion and desire.
Why does it matter so much that the thought of practicing could bring a grown man to tears?
“Just my love for the game,” Gary replied. “Football is something that offered myself, my family a great life. I just owe the game of football so much. That’s all I wanted to do. This sport gives me the opportunity to provide for my family. There’s no better feeling than saying you’re able to do something or take care of something and you’re able to do it. This game provides me that.
“I’ve got two nephews that are looking up to me. Having this game, showing them how men are supposed to go about their work and how it looks to take care of family, man, it’s important. Just being able to do that, Green Bay blessed me with the opportunity to do that, so, man, every snap, I’ve got to go out there and go balls to the wall. That’s what I do.”
Defensive coordinator Joe Barry has witnessed Gary’s passion for the game first-hand for a few years. On Thursday, he remembered when Gary suffered an elbow injury against Seattle. Gary cried that night, too. Not because of the pain. Rather, because he was sorry the injury was going to keep him out of the lineup.
“I stand up here all the time and tell you Rashan Gary is a great football player. His impact is always going to be felt, but it’s all the other things,” Barry said. “It’s his demeanor, it’s his grit, it’s his play style. It’s everything he brings to us on a daily basis from the way he plays the game.
“That’s the way his approach is in everything he does. Whether it’s a meeting, whether it’s a walk-through, whether it’s practice, he approaches it the same way. I think even for a veteran player, you feed off that energy. Especially all the young guys that we have in that room – Lukas (Van Ness) and JJ (Enagbare) and all those guys – he has a direct impact, not only on our defense but on our team just by what he brings to the table every day. It’s just great to have him back out there.”
Gary, predictably, was on the field for the Packers’ Week 1 rout of the Bears. He played 12 snaps and got to rush the passer on 10 of them. By the team’s count, he had seven pressures.
“Man, we all love RG,” Douglas said. “He’s like our soul here on this team. We know what he brings. He’s all-out. He’s a killer. He’s an emotional killer, I’ll say that. Right now, you go tell him you’re proud of him, he’s going to start crying. But on that field, it’s somebody else out there.”
That’s how it was for Gary on Sunday. Yes, it was emotional before the game as he gathered the defense for a pregame speech. But, when it was time to play, Gary turned into that “killer” once again.
“It was crazy,” Gary said. “When I got back into the game, just kind of snapped back into playing football. Before the game, man, I hugged Kenny (Clark), hugged Preston (Smith) and just told them it was an honor to be back out there with them.”
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