Respect.
NFL players may want to bash each other’s heads in between the white lines. But there is also a really cool bond between the best of the best, no matter what color uniform a player may wear.
That was demonstrated on Sunday when the Bucs hosted the 49ers.
Early in the game, 49ers’ star linebacker Fred Warner went down with the same ankle/foot injury that Chris Godwin suffered last year.
Warner is perhaps the best linebacker in the game. It must have been a gruesome injury. Watch the replay if you can. Bucs left tackle Tristan Wirfs immediately began hollering and waving for San Francisco trainers to get on the field.
And when Warner was being treated and the cart was brought out to midfield where Warner lay, even though they were defensive players and the Bucs offense was on the field, Lavonte David and Vita Vea walked on the field to check Warner.
David stood right by the cart as Warner was being tended to.
That shows you what NFL players think of Warner. Three of the classiest Bucs players were hit by the sight.
Joe spoke with David after the game and asked him about standing right next to the cart, waiting for Warner to be loaded onto the cart was sort of a demonstration of respect among warriors.
> “Definitely respect,” David said. “At the end of the day, Fred is my guy. Fred is pretty cool. I have been watching him his whole career. We have a lot of great respect for one another.”
Interestingly enough, Warner also wears No. 54, just like David.
> “When I see one of my fellow linebackers go down, it’s tough,” David said. “I am a fan of the position. He plays the position in an elite way. I love watching him play.
>
> “For him to go down like that, it hurt for me. I felt real bad. I know he will rally. I know he will come back from that.”
Any wonder why the Bucs’ personnel department uses David as a composite of who they judge players by in their “I Am That Man” philosophy?
Joe obviously thought that was very respectful what David did. And it doesn’t surprise Joe that two Bucs defensive veterans were so concerned with Warner that they walked onto the field to check on him and try to boost Warner’s spirits.