Skip to content

Panthers trainer believed Thomas Davis' season was done after breaking arm

Grant Halverson / Getty Images Sport / Getty

When Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis broke his arm during the NFC Championship Game two weeks ago, team head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion thought the same thing that most did: Davis' season was over.

Vermillion said as much to assistant trainer Mark Shermansky after Davis informed them of his injury.

"I remember saying to Mark, 'I cannot believe this guy's season is going to end right now,'" Vermillion said, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. "We were going to win the game, you could tell the way it was going. But I could not believe this guy - what he's been through - that it's going to end right now."

Two weeks later, Davis will starting in Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos.

The 32-year-old is used to beating the odds. He overcame three ACL tears to become one of the best inside linebackers in the league, and Davis was adamant a broken arm wouldn't stop him from playing in the first Super Bowl of his career.

"First off, to be able to do what he's doing takes a special guy," Vermillion said. "Not everyone can do what he's doing. He's not going to go through what he's gone through and not get this opportunity."

The Panthers' medical staff believed Davis could be ready in time for the Super Bowl, and after a successful surgery, Carolina focused on making sure he would be physically ready to play with the injury.

"He's got a plate about 6-inch long, that'll be in there forever," said Vermillion. "It's fixed. He's got an internal cast. It's not like we got to cast his arm."

Davis was able to participate in practice fully this week, but how it will affect his game remains one of the Super Bowl's biggest question marks.

"He's got great grip strength," Vermillion said. "He can use his wrist, he can use his elbow, those are some of the challenges he's not going to have, which is real important. The biggest challenge for him right now is, what's it going to feel like to take a blow on it. What's it going to feel like to wrap up and pull somebody towards him? Those are the biggest challenges. The nice thing is, wrist motion is going to be there, elbow motion is going to be there, and his grip is there."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox