Buffalo Bills star Shane Ray is looking to return to action in the NFL after nearly a five-year absence through injury.
The linebacker was originally drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft with the 23rd overall pick. He was set to have a promising career in the NFL, and things started off well.
The 30-year-old helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50, forcing a fumble in the big game, and his first two seasons saw him a key member of their defensive line. However, a series of recurring wrist injuries from the 2017 season severely hampered his playing time.
A total of 19 games were played by Ray in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, before he was released by the Broncos in the summer of 2018. It later was reported, after the Broncos opted not to exercise the fifth-year option in Ray’s contract, that the linebacker would need further wrist surgery and spend months on the sidelines.
A year later he would be signing for the Baltimore Ravens, but he did not play a single game due to the impact of the continuous run of wrist injuries. After the coronavirus took its effects on the NFL and the globe, Ray eventually made his way to the Canadian Football league where he played for the Toronto Argonauts.
Now, Ray is back in the NFL after signing for the Bills last month. And looking back on his previous injury woes, the 30-year-old says he is grateful to be back playing the game he loves at the highest level as he looks to make a splash in the NFL once again.
"I had to humble myself, more than humbled than ever before," Ray told AP News . "From going to Canada and buying in, you know I can't act like there were days that I didn't walk in and I was like, 'Bro, this is where I am? … I was desperate for an opportunity."
Ray added, referring to his time spent unable to play football: “(Those) were probably the hardest years of my life, mentally, physically, not feeling like me, feeling beaten up, feeling torn down by the media.
“I felt like I wasn’t me anymore and I had no value. I know everybody has hard times, and I understand that people don't often get second chances. And mine came after a really long time.
“But like I've been telling everybody, the one thing I didn't do is I didn't quit on myself. No matter how this ends, I can go back and be like, 'I gave you everything that I had. And I can live with that.'"
Ray will be hoping to be a key part of the Bills roster for the 2023 season, starting with their Week One opener against the New York Jets. Before then, though, their are pre-season friendly games against the Indianapolis Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears.
