RB Jaylen Warren has learned plenty in his NFL career. What the best of the best really looks like. But what he’s also learned is, you gotta take care of your body in this league. They call it the Not-For-Long league for a reason.
Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Warren was asked if he and the team spend extra time rehabbing after playing physical matchups like the ones they see against the Baltimore Ravens. Warren said those kinds of things were foreign to him until he signed with the Steelers.
“I’m not gonna lie,” he said via audio provided by the Steelers. “In college, I never really did rehab. Just went home the next day, went to go lift and I didn’t really do rehab. I got to the league and started learning all that.”
It’s a sidebar to the theme of Sunday’s win, one in which Warren played a key role, but a pretty wild comment given the fact that Warren played at three different colleges. A well-traveled man, he began his career at Snow College, a JUCO in Utah. He than transferred to the FBS level, first with Utah State before he spent two years at Oklahoma State.
How he didn’t rehab with the Cowboys, a big program, is anyone’s guess. Maybe that’s the product of being younger and more able to shake off those Saturday games. Or maybe it’s just because nobody hits in the Big 12. Either way, Warren certainly knows the value and importance of taking care of your body in the NFL.
It’s an often forgotton part of being a professional. Sure, players have to know the plays and stay in shape. But they have to do the little things to play their best. Get enough sleep, eat right, and take care of their body. The lengths some have gone to do that will blow your mind. James Harrison would spends hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on rehab and recovery. Of course, that’s nearly what Warren makes in a season and not an option for him. But there are little things like getting in the cold tub, getting massages, and knowing when to give your body rest.
Warren and the rest of the team will do that during their Week Six bye before getting ready for the grueling end to the season, a schedule that includes a pair of Thursday night games.
