By Bill Bradley, contributing editor
Darrelle Revis has completed his comeback.
The cornerback played in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season opener Sunday, one year after he tore the ACL in his left knee during a game. Revis had surgery in September, and in April, he was traded from the New York Jets to the Bucs, who put the cornerback in their starting lineup against his former team.
Andrea Kremer, NFL Media's chief health and safety correspondent, has followed Revis through his rebound and rehabilitation. Kremer also was there when Revis returned to New York this weekend.
Kremer asked Revis, who had the reputation as being the NFL's best cornerback before his injury, if he grew weary of the rehab.
"When they tell you it's going to be six months to a year (to play again), you can't really wrap your head around that," he said. "Some days, I'm like, 'I don't feeling like doing nothing today.' You've just got to find some motivation or something that you're fighting to get to."
Revis' children have been his motivation throughout his rehab. Kremer asked Revis what he'll tell them about his comeback.
"When adversity strikes, you can fall or you can stand up," he said. "You're fighting for something even bigger than you."
The trade from New York to Tampa Bay changed the dynamic of Revis' rehab and made him question his career.
"I thought, 'Wow, is this how it goes?' " he said.
Yet the move to the Bucs didn't deter Revis from his goal of making it back to the field on the NFL's opening weekend. In fact, it rejuvenated him.
"I don't know what it's going to be like when I go through that tunnel," Revis said. "I'm really not trying to think about it. I just think that's a moment you have to go through. My confidence level is high. I'm just ready to go out here and play ball."
