D'Onta Foreman thankful to be alive, able to walk after scary injury early in camp

The touchdown was great.D'Onta Foreman was grateful for so much more."I'm thankful to be able to walk," he said Saturday night after scoring from a yard in the Browns' 27-12 preseason loss to the Vikings. "It ain't even just playing football. I'm thankful to just be here, be alive, be able to be myself."Things happen so fast in life, you just got to be thankful for every moment, every day, every situation you get. You got to be thankful for it and just try to do the best things you can while you're here."Jedrick Wills Jr. won't return to practice this week, and Browns are running low at tackleForeman's perspective changed Aug. 1 during a run-of-the-mill training camp practice at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. One minute the veteran running back's in a punt protection drill, a few minutes later he's immobilized on a stretcher after experiencing neck pain — but never losing movement in his arms and legs — and loaded into an ambulance.Then came the helicopter ride he'll never forget."I never even flew in a helicopter before, so to be on the helicopter in that type of situation, in that moment, it was crazy and it was even more crazy because my family back home, they kind of saw everything and it took a little minute for everybody to kind of reach out to them and let them know everything was OK," Foreman said. "So they were panicking and calling me and texting me and stuff. So I'm just glad everything worked out. Very blessed, very thankful to still be here and be able to do what I love to do."The Greenbrier is isolated in the mountains, so a helicopter was the fastest way to a trauma hospital in Virginia. The flight felt longer than it was."I was strapped down to the board," Foreman said. "I couldn't look around, I couldn't move, and the board really was making it worse because I was just so stiff, and then I didn't want to move because I didn't know if I could mess something up."Browns lose preseason game to Vikings, 3 more tackles to injuryHe had been like that for an hour."My legs, back, butt, everything were just hurting," he said. "So I was really ready to get off the helicopter."THE MOMENTForeman, 28, never lost consciousness and wasn't concussed."I remember the whole thing," he said.The team was working on punt rushes and he initiated a hit."I went to make contact with my head down and it kind of jammed and went down my spine area and I just felt like a sharp pain," he said. "And once I let them know and they kind of felt around and felt where the pain was at, they just wanted to be extra cautious about everything."I was scared, I was nervous, but they kept me calm and they just made sure that I knew that everything was just kind of precautionary. They had already checked and made sure that I was able to move everything."Vikings in awe of Myles Garrett's talent, instincts, work ethic after joint practicesHe was in the hospital for four or five hours as they ran a series of tests that confirmed everything was OK. He had never experienced that type of pain and was relieved to know he hadn't fractured anything."We checked every box, we did everything, got everything looked at, and they handled it the right way," he said. "I'm thankful for that."He was "sore as hell" and wore a neck brace for a day. The pain wound up spreading from the neck down the middle of the spine to his muscles and lower back. He said after three or four days he had regained much of his movement. He returned to practice a week after the incident, didn't play in the preseason opener against the Packers and took the field Saturday."It kind of came back in my mind after I got in the end zone on the first touchdown and I felt my neck," he said of the scare. "It got sore and tight, and I was like, 'Dang!' Because I hadn't really been hit, but it's not nothing I'm worried about. I think I can get that cleared up with some needles and some treatment."He needed to put the incident behind him to continue his career."I knew I still wanted to play ball, so I didn't want to have that in the back of my mind when I'm out there on the field," he said.He called himself "definitely a tough guy" and credited the "strong-minded" people in his family."Whatever we put our mind to, we don't stop until we get the job done," he said.A JOB TO DOAt 6-foot, 235 pounds, Foreman seems perfect for the goal line carries he got against the Vikings and the short-yardage role Kareem Hunt excelled in a year ago. The Browns and Hunt parted ways after last season."I feel like in those situations, I got to get in there, just me with my stature and my frame, me being a bigger back, it's like I take those personal, so I was actually mad I didn't get in on the first one," Foreman said. "I definitely had to get in the second one, but it worked out."The roles of the running backs are still being defined, especially with Nick Chubb still sidelined. Jerome Ford is slated to be the starter, with Foreman and Pierre Strong Jr. coming off the bench."Right now they got me doing a little bit of everything," Foreman said. "So whatever my role is, I feel like I'll be effective in my role and do everything I can to help the team for sure."Coach Kevin Stefanski liked what he saw vs. the Vikings."Ran very hard, that's kind of his game," he said. "He puts his weight down and stays low and goes forward. Obviously had a nose for the goal line there."Foreman entered the league as a third-round pick of the Texans in 2017 out of the University of Texas. A torn Achilles as a rookie cost him nearly all of the 2018 season, then a torn biceps got him in 2019.He landed with the Titans for 2020 and '21 and played his first full season with the Panthers in '22, starting nine of 17 games with 203 carries for 914 yards, a 4.5 average and five touchdowns. He started eight of nine games with the Bears last year, rushing 109 times for 425 yards, a 3.9 average and four touchdowns. For his career, he's started 21 of 52 games with 2,326 rushing yards, a 4.2 average and 14 touchdowns.He rushed 10 times for 18 yards and the touchdown Saturday and caught a team-high five passes for 46 yards. He believes he showed the coaching staff something after having only 34 catches for 342 yards and three touchdowns in his career, including a career-high 11 catches a year ago."I can catch the ball out the backfield and get some yards," he said. "I was grateful that I was able to come out there today and catch some balls and kind of make some plays afterwards."He had a lot for which to be grateful. The post D'Onta Foreman thankful to be alive, able to walk after scary injury early in camp first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.