Every morning during camp, linebacker Robert Henson comes in with his teammates. He eats with his teammates, he studies with his teammates, and he suits up in his practice gear with his teammates.
But once he gets down to the field, he watches his teammates go practice and get ready for the season, while he is left rehabbing his knee.
Henson, along with safeties LaRon Landry and Kareem Moore, remains on the P.U.P. list after the first week of practice. While all three are progressing physically, it’s hard to deal with the mental side of being injured.
He started out with a light-hearted comment on Twitter about his forgotten spot on the team:
It's amazing how quickly you get forgotten about if your not practicing haha #motivation they'll wanna talk soon enough haha—
Robert Henson (@Mr_Henson51) August 01, 2011
But then when the media avoided him, he got more frustrated the next day:
Very disappointed I didnt even get a look, bypass Henson oh well God knows what's best—
Robert Henson (@Mr_Henson51) August 03, 2011
I need my best-friend/ Wife @SarahDHenson to talk to me :-/—
Robert Henson (@Mr_Henson51) August 03, 2011
My apologies Redskin Nation definitely didnt mean to throw mixed signals just frustrated about things I can't control.. Not cut lol—
Robert Henson (@Mr_Henson51) August 03, 2011
My blogger’s sixth-sense detected that Henson needed to chat, and I managed to track him down after yesterday’s practice.
“I’m ready to be back out there,” he said. ”I read these reports that say I’m ‘often-injured,’ and I’ve only had one injury. I know who reported it, I keep the article close to me. I hate when people say that stuff, and just counting me out basically.”
Henson was sure to point out that he’s not a media darling and doesn’t need to be a pampered star. At the same time, he doesn’t want to be forgotten.
“It doesn’t bother me that I don’t have attention from the media,” he said. ”I do want to play and be respected on the field. It’s just me being hungry and anxious to be out there again. Y’know, it’s nothing personal towards anybody.”
Well, that wasn’t much of a vent. But Henson did emphasize that he’s using this time to get stronger and get motivated.
“I’m working out, rehab, just the whole gamut,” he proclaimed. ”Anything I can do to get back: if it helps the team, I’m all about it. That’s been my main focus this year, just keeping up with these guys and getting mental reps.”
There are those famed mental reps again!
Henson said that his own personal timetable is to be back “in the next couple days.” When I asked him about next week’s preseason game against Pittsburgh, he predicted: “I’ll definitely play in that Steelers game. I ain’t even worried about that.”
Henson maintains a pretty good outlook for his role in the defense. He knows that at this point, he’s expected to be a contributor who plays well when he’s on the field. Long-term, he has higher aspirations.
“Definitely having a key role, that’s what I would like to have,” he said. ”That’s the defender’s dream to be one of those key guys. I mean, everybody on the team has a role, so y’know, whatever that role is, I’ll fall into it, as long as we winning.”
Henson will be a guy to watch once he gets back on the field and games start. Competition has gotten stiff at linebacker, and he’s definitely got some motivation to compete.
