NASHVILLE – Harold Landry stepped up to the podium on Friday after practice, and the big smile on his face said it all.
"I'm excited to be here for sure," the Titans edge rusher said. "It's been awesome. Being away from the game as long as I have, missing all of last year, obviously you miss making plays in front of fans at the games because, you know, that feeling is euphoric.
"But honestly, being away for that long, you start to appreciate it and miss it even more, just like coming out on the practice field and hearing Jeff (Simmons) talk (trash), or just hearing your guys joking around. But everybody is just out here grinding and having a good time. … I'm ecstatic to be back."
Landry, who tore his ACL leading up to last season, didn't take part in OTAs or the minicamp during the offseason.
But on the first day of training camp, Landry was on the field with his teammates, without a knee brace.
And, he feels great.
"What happened was I tore it a while ago," Landry said of the knee. "And now it's damn near perfect."
A second-round pick of the Titans in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Boston College, Landry made it to his first Pro Bowl in 2021 after racking up 12 sacks and 49 quarterback pressures.
The sack total ranked 10th in the NFL and led the team, and it finished off a four-year stretch in which Landry accumulated a team-high 31 sacks, the second-highest total by a Titans/Oilers player in his first four NFL seasons since 1982, when individual sacks became an official NFL statistic 1982 (37 by Jevon Kearse).
He was looking forward to picking up where he left off before the injury.
A year later, he's champing at the bit for the 2023 season to begin.
Landry still has time to work, but the worst is behind him.
"It's a long process, and throughout it you're definitely frustrated a little bit because there's times you're doing everything you can and you feel like you're kind of staying the same," Landry said. "Then out of nowhere, you just stick to the plan, trust the people you're working with and you make those jumps.
"Now, being where I'm at, it feels great. I don't even think about it when I'm out on the field. It's awesome, so kudos to all the people I've been working with and all the time and energy because it feels great."
Is there a chance he could come back better than ever?
Landry said he's been motivated by seeing others return in grand fashion after an ACL injury.
"I'm definitely stronger, more explosive for sure, faster," Landry said. "I mean, I would say I'm most definitely just more strict on my diet because I'm into that stuff and I was doing everything possible to make my knee feel better the next day.
"… Expectations are high, you know what I am saying? I worked my ass off to get to this point, and the people here have helped me so much. I feel great."
