Robert Quinn eager to make comeback after back surgery

Robert Quinn eager to make comeback after back surgery

By Jack Wang, Los Angeles Daily News

[www.dailynews.com]

IRVINE >> For more than half a year now, Robert Quinn has relied on the advice of Byron Cunningham.

The Rams’ defensive end underwent back surgery last December, finally ending a season that had also been plagued by knee and hip pain. Since then, Quinn has deferred his rehab largely to Cunningham, the team’s physical therapist and assistant athletic trainer.

“Whatever he decides to throw at me that day, I basically do,” Quinn said. “From the first day out of surgery to now, it’s a completely different routine. What I was doing at first, I couldn’t tell you what it was.”

Today, the routine is much less complcated: Some stretching to stay mobile, and exercises to strengthen his core and back. The hope now is that all the work will get him ready in time for the Rams’ season opener on Sept. 12 — and to reclaim most of his former efficacy.

“That was not an easy thing that he went through last year,” said head coach Jeff Fisher. “A lot of hard work during the offseason. It was step by step by step.”

Quinn recorded or tied career lows in tackles (21) and sacks (five) last season, and played in just eight games after appearing in 63 over the previous four years. That ill-fated campaign ended his streak of back-to-back Pro Bowls, one that included an eye-popping stat line in 2013: 19 sacks and seven forced fumbles, both of which ranked second in the NFL, as well as 57 tackles. For a defensive line already anchored by Aaron Donald, adding anything close to that level of production can terrify opposing offenses.

On Tuesday, Quinn suited up with the rest of his team as it underwent its first training camp practice in full pads. After watching from the sidelines for most of the Rams’ offseason workouts in Oxnard earlier this summer, that opportunity gave him a chance to loosen up and get a feel for his timing.

Looking ahead, however, the challenges maybe be as much mental as they are physical.

“I’ve been sitting there thinking about it,” Quinn said. “I’ve never had an injury, so this is really my first one. I don’t really know how to approach it. Every day, I’m trying to just ignore it. Just basically forget I ever had surgery. Build that true confidence.

“I just have to make sure it’s completely stable. I’m not rushing to get back and re-hurt myself.”

COOPER DAY-TO-DAY

Receiver Pharoh Cooper is day-to-day with a quad injury that he suffered on Sunday. The South Carolina product had been one of the team’s most oft-mentioned rookies this offseason, after being selected in the fourth round at No. 117 overall.

The Rams have also signed receivers Austin Hill and David Richards, who went undrafted out of Arizona in the last two years. Hill’s father, David, played tight end for the Rams from 1984-87. He is also the nephew of CBS2 sports anchor Jim Hill.

LEGENDS GAME CANCELLED

A flag football game set to feature former Rams players has been cancelled due to low ticket sales.

The Rams Legends Game had been scheduled to take place at the Stubhub Center in Carson on Aug. 14, but the an update at ramslegends.com indicated Tuesday that the event would no longer take place. The website is no longer active.

Big names such as Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Torry Holt had been among the headliners. Tickets had ranged from $45 to $65.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported news of the cancellation.