EXCLUSIVE: "My back was against the wall" - Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon explains struggles of hellish two-year hiatus after ACL injury
Kansas City Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon has had a different NFL journey than most running backs. The nine-year veteran is one of the most durable running backs in the league. He’s lasted five and a half more seasons than the average career of a running back.
He began his career with the Minnesota Vikings after being drafted in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft.
Vikings valued their picks after giving up 2nd & 4th to draft Tedy Bridgewater; used 3rd rounder on RB Jerick McKinnon, who they love
He earned himself a lucrative four-year, $30 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers in 2018. However, on September 1, 2018, McKinnon tore his ACL during a team workout, which kept him out for the season.
Former #Vikings RB Jerick Mckinnon is signing with the #49ers on a 4-year deal, source confirmed (as @AdamSchefter said). They focused on him, as Carlos Hyde left for Cleveland.
The following season, he suffered a setback from the injury, and he was sidelined for the entire 2019 season, missing two full seasons in a row.
Fast forward to the 2022-2023 season, and McKinnon showed no signs of his injury. He scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime against the Houston Texans last week and had over 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Denver Broncos the week before.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, McKinnon explained the struggles of the injury and how he felt like his back was against the wall.
McKinnon said:
"You know just trusting in the process, trusting in the changes that I was working with. The rehab team I worked with in Pensacola with the 49ers while I was with them, just trusting the process, challenging myself. Keeping my head high and knowing that my hard work would pay off eventually one day.
"You know the ACL injury is normally like a year recovery, so I go through the first surgery, expecting to be back the next season, but end up getting the MRI, and it showed that I'd have to miss the second straight season, so that was a tough pill to swallow.
"When you're going through it at the time, you don't really know how to feel, but it's definitely not the position that anybody wants to find themselves in, so for me, it was just trying to figure that whole situation out."
He added:
"Yeah, it was definitely frustrating, you know. The ACL is more common to fix now than it was back in the day, but you know having two surgeries, I felt like my back was against the wall.”
Jerick McKinnon relives scoring the game-winning touchdown vs. the Houston Texans in overtime
McKinnon has successfully bounced back from his ACL injury. He amassed over 550 total yards and six touchdowns in the first year he played after his two-year hiatus in 2020 with the 49ers.
He joined the Chiefs last season but did not see nearly as much action as he has this year. Last season, he only had 25 total touches in 13 total games, but he has 109 total touches, over 700 total yards, and six total touchdowns.
RB Jerick McKinnon closes out the game for KC with a 26-yard touchdown run.
FINAL IN OT:
#Chiefs - 30
#Texans - 24
#ChiefsKingdom https://t.co/7MtigXoayx
Last week, he scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime versus the Texans.
He explained how he felt and how energized the locker room was after.
McKinnon said
"I mean the locker room, man, you know, it was geeked. It was good. It was a good moment to share. It's a good moment to be in, man, especially with the guys who come in working so hard with you, you know, day in and day out, and then as far as the play and then when it happened, I didn't really know what to feel at the moment."
He continued:
"I know I was excited. I was turnt up as you can see, but you know my emotions are running so high. I didn't really, you know, what to feel at the moment, too. I really settled down and really thought about it, and I was able to make a play for the team."
The Chiefs will finish the season with games against the Seahawks, Broncos, and Raiders. With their win on Sunday, they clinched the AFC West.
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