Carolina Panthers All-Pro linebacker Thomas Davis suffered a broken arm in the NFC Championship Game against the Arizona Cardinals, and the following day had surgery which included putting a plate and several screws in his arm. And just 13 days after that surgery, he incredibly started for the Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
Following the Panthers’ disappointing Super Bowl loss to the Denver Broncos, Davis shared this OMG photo of his arm with a message on Instagram:
Um, wow. There is no doubting how tough this guy is, not that there was any doubting his toughness before this broken arm anyway- he’s the only player in NFL history to still be playing after three ACL surgeries. Davis shared more about his arm with the media after the game:
“I’m fine,” Davis said after the game. “It’s one of those things where you go into the game with a game plan. We executed it from a body standpoint. The trainers did an amazing job of making sure I was ready to go and I didn’t have any issues during the game.”
Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott marveled at Davis’ performance (and were just generally amazed that he was actually playing):
“He played great,” said Panthers rookie linebacker Shaq Thompson. “With a broken arm, I don’t know if anyone else would be playing like that.” Said Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott: “(For him) to go out there 13 days out of surgery, he’s just a warrior. He’s one of our leaders on and off the field, so I’m extremely proud of what Thomas has done for this organization and this defense. That’s who we are. That’s our identity and I’m very proud to be associated with a man like Thomas Davis.”
UPDATE: It appears that Davis’ photo may not be from Sunday night (even though that’s when he shared it):
Not that it really matters but this photo circulating doesn’t appear to be from today. Great recovery #ThomasDavis pic.twitter.com/VDs1uB9bji
— David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) February 8, 2016
Regardless, his arm recently looked like that, at least. And it doesn’t change the fact he played in the Super Bowl just two weeks after breaking the arm.
