Washington Redskins Brandon Banks is ‘90 percent healthy’ three months after stabbing
Brandon Banks, receiver for the Washington Redskins, is back on the football field and working out with his teammates in private workouts at a high school in Virginia just three months after he was stabbed outside of a nightclub in Washington, D.C.
The receiver suffered a collapsed lung in the attack after the blade of the knife nicked his lung and another friend was also injured. Banks spent five days in an area hospital, most of which were spent with a tube in his chest.
However, Banks, who just finished his rookie season with the ‘Skins, is ready to put the whole incident behind him and focus on getting back to football.
“Just a victim,” he told a Washington area website on Wednesday. “There’s always somebody trying to bring you down but if you love the game and love what you do, nobody can stop you.”
Banks also said that he is “probably 90 percent healthy” and that he won’t let the injury slow him down, but instead use it to make himself a better person. He believes that his past filled with loss and injuries has helped him come back from this particular one.
"I’ve been in tough situations before,” he said. “I’ve lost loved ones. I’ve been hurt before. I’ve been in troubling situations before. It’s another hurdle to jump. Hopefully, I don’t have to jump another hurdle."
Although Banks thinks that the attack was not his fault, teammate London Fletcher had a message for him, saying that it was partly his fault.
“He’s had enough people tell him what to do and what not to do but it’s more about supporting him and letting him know, ‘Hey, be wiser about some of the things you do and places you go because there are a lot of people who don’t have your best interests at hand,’” Fletcher, a linebacker for the ‘Skins, said.
He also thinks that the attack will make Banks a better player in the long run, saying, “I’m definitely sure Brandon is going to be re-focused because that could have gone a totally different way for him. You start to look at your life differently and all of the things that are important to you. … I know he’s grateful for the opportunity to be here and be in the NFL.”
Banks played in all four preseason games in his first season with the ‘Skins and in the NFL, recording a total of eight receptions for 129 yards and three fumbles, one of which he lost. During the regular season, he played in 13 games but did not start in any, recording a total of two receptions for ten yards and two rushing attempts for six yards. He also fumbled twice.
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