ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — A promising rookie season turned into one that ended prematurely for 2nd year running back Zack Moss.
His first postseason NFL game became his last of the 2020 season after he suffered an ankle injury in the team's win against the Indianapolis Colts. He ended up having surgery on his ankle that turned into months of rehab.
"It was a long one definitely," he said. "For the first three months, I was just sitting on my butt for the most part. In the last month and a half, we've ramped it up, trying to get this thing [ankle] strong again."
Moss sat out of OTAs [May] and mini-camp [June], wearing a red non-contact jersey. Being able to finally put on a normal jersey and start running plays again feels good, but he says he still has work to do. That next hurdle is playing full-contact football and seeing how his ankle and lower body responds when he’s tackled.
He’s also focused on being a better back and working on the weaknesses that were exposed last season.
“Me and my coach talked about getting through that hole," Moss said. "Those first five yards - that’s kind of where those big plays come in and just getting downhill and doing the rest.”
Moss and Devin Singletary are expected to split first-team reps throughout the season, much like they did last year. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has said he doesn't really think of either of them as "running back no. 1". Instead, he sees who has the hot hand in any given game and goes with them.
As true competitors that put the team first, Moss agrees with that statement.
“If he’s the starting running back and we win the Super Bowl, fine. If I’m the starting running back and we win the Super Bowl, fine," Moss said. "So either way, we know what the end goal is and we just wanna help this team get better.”
