Watkins’ disappointing season... I keep reading this article

That offseason, Watkins had a screw inserted to mend a Jones fracture in the foot, and X-Rays indicated he was fine.

Watkins knew otherwise. He could feel that screw "shifting." It wasn't big enough.

So the Friday before Buffalo's season opener against Baltimore, yeah, that was rock bottom.

"Me and Coach were battling," Watkins says of his position coach, Sanjay Lal.

"He's like, 'You're healthy!' And I'm like, 'I'm not healthy!' He's like, 'Well, run this route.' And I'm like, 'It's about to break right here.'

I ran. I was like 'F--k it. I'm running full speed.' And I pfff…"

It felt like a harpoon drilled through his foot.

Watkins didn't say anything to the coaches and tried playing on.

Usually, he'd switch sides with another receiver when a speed out was called to alleviate pressure on that foot.

In the heat of the moment, one third down he couldn't, and that harpoon struck again.

Finally, he elected to redo the surgery. Trainers are to blame. Coaches are to blame. But Watkins blames himself, too.

By the time a doctor took a closer look at that foot, he called it one of the worst he had ever seen. So, no, there never was a coronation in Buffalo.

Only misery, slipshod quarterback play and those rib, groin, hip, glute, calf, ankle and foot injuries.

Looking back, Watkins speaks of himself then as the inebriated uncle at a family Christmas party.

He was selfish then. Immature.

After he put his coaches and quarterback on blast in our first convo, in the Bills' next offensive meeting, one player says that LeSean McCoy stopped everything to speak up.

"We hear you need 10 targets a game," McCoy said aloud to Watkins.

"Here you go." And with that, the running back handed the disgruntled receiver a manila envelope with 10 red targets printed out inside.

Many players laughed. Not Watkins.

"Sammy couldn't have taken it any worse," the player says. "He was so butt hurt."

Two weeks after this came an Instagram rant from Watkins, in which he called fans "losers" who should "continue working y'all little jobs for the rest of y'all lives."

He went through the motions then. Oh, there's a reason Lal wanted Watkins running full-speed at practice. He was fed up.

"Fast Forward the trade to LA"

Early on, he knows he could've spoken up.

"I could've easily said, 'Why the f--k am I not getting the ball?' Arguing.

Or looking at the coach like 'What the f--k? I'm wide-open. Why am I not getting the ball?' It was a test for me, basically, to see how I was going to respond.

And when I started handling it the right way mentally, I started playing harder. Blocking a little bit more. Getting guys open. I wasn't negative about the situation.

"I think that's one of the tests you have to pass, like to prove, 'No, everything's going good.'"

So, do you believe him? He's in sunshine, not snow. He's catching passes from Jared Goff, not EJ Manuel or Tyrod Taylor.

He's on a Super Bowl contender, not a franchise banished in a 7-9 blizzard for two decades.

But do you honestly believe any flammable wide receiver can just…change at the snap of a finger?

Remembering just how immature Watkins was inside the building, some former Bills roll their eyes at this narrative.

They predict Watkins will fan those flames again.

Not to mention, there's always another ligament to twist, another bone to crack. To most football fans, Sammy Watkins has been a humpty-dumpty bust.

But Sammy Watkins himself knows this: His story is not finished.

On the field? Through 13 games, he has 34 receptions for 549 yards and seven touchdowns.

Watkins insists he's perfectly OK sharing the wealth on this pyrotechnic Rams offense.

Playing with Goff has been an epiphany. "I honestly feel like I'm at the top tier," he says. "My numbers might not show it.

But I'm pretty sure that if you put it on film, and watch any of my games this year,

I compete at a high level. I get open all day. I block.

I do just about everything you could ask from a wide receiver."

"The sky. I feel like I can be the No. 1, No. 2 receiver in this league. I just feel like that takes time, especially coming to a new team.

Guys have already been here, so, no, I'm not just going to take over this team.

"Todd Gurley has been drafted here. Jared Goff. Cooper Kupp. A lot of guys have already been established here.

So my job is really just to keep getting better and keep perfecting my craft.

If I can continue to do that, our fans and coaches will notice. Like, 'Hey, we've got to get this guy the ball.'"

Watkins, now, stays locked in.

"I used to be addicted to…angry if I didn't get 100 yards in one game," Watkins says. "I'm not going to take myself down that road again."

[bleacherreport.com]

If his FOOT has passed all of the offseason physical tests and checks out 100%

I prefer 4 years but I hope Watkins agrees to at least a 3 year contract.

His value for me is that he's worth not a penny less than 10 million a year and I wouldn't fret if he got 13 per year.