Bills' Watkins still unsure when he'll return to field
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins recently resumed running as he recovers from April surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot, but is uncertain when he will be able to return to football activities.
"I don't know how much I'm gonna be doing or when I'm gonna be on the field, but I'm definitely going to be active and engaged," Watkins said at his football camp Tuesday, via ESPN. "I don't know what the schedule is like with me being on the field competing-wise, but I'm right where I need to be at - feeling good, healthy. Nothing is bothering me. Just really prepare for whatever they do.
"I don't know what the situation is, but if they throw me out there, I just want to be prepared if they do. That's all I can do is prepare for it."
Watkins, 23, posted a video of himself on Instagram earlier this month running with the words "back on top soon."
He reeled in 60 receptions to go along with career highs in both yards (1,047) and touchdowns (nine) last season.
Watkins remained in Buffalo this offseason to work with the team's training staff as he rehabbed from the surgery.
The fourth overall pick in 2014 played in all 16 games as a rookie and 13 last season, but has battled a variety of injuries and said he may spend future offseasons in Buffalo to focus on his health and conditioning.
"That's one thing I really want to work on," he said Tuesday, via ESPN. "Not so much the numbers and touchdowns and scoring - it's being available for my teammates. That's one thing I take to heart is not being available to make plays and help my teammates. If I'm not on the field, I feel like I'm letting them down, letting everybody down. So it's really being available, staying healthy and that's something I'm working on right now with the staff, the training staff, trying to find so many ways I can keep my body up, stay healthy and stay fit for the whole season."
Watkins is entering the third year of his rookie contract and is set to earn $600,000 in base salary to go with a $1.63 million roster bonus and $3.2 million of his pro-rated signing bonus.