Allen Park — Getting benched is hardly insignificant, but relatively speaking, it’s only a small bump in the road Detroit Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah has traveled these past 15 months.
As part of a roster built on overcoming adversity, Okudah is a poster child.
After suffering a devastating Achilles tendon tear in the 2021 season opener, he managed to power through rehab quickly enough to take the field for this year’s opener.
And he hasn’t just played — he’s played well. The former No. 3 overall pick established himself as one of the league’s premier run defenders and tacklers at his position, all while holding his own in coverage. In Week 3, he even played a key role in limiting Vikings superstar receiver Justin Jefferson to a career-low 14 yards receiving.
But Okudah has been in a bit of a rut, of late. It coincided with contracting an illness a few weeks back, which limited him to 27 snaps in the rematch against the Vikings. The following week, against the Jets, he allowed six catches (on 14 targets) for a season-high 124 yards. And his struggles continued last Saturday against the Panthers, with an uncharacteristic pair of missed tackles and the surrendering of another long completion.
Shortly after giving up that 47-yard bomb on third down, the Lions pulled Okudah from the game, in favor of Mike Hughes.
“The thing that we want to make sure we do is, we want to make sure we save the player, and instead of letting that game continuously go down,” defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said about the decision.
In hindsight, removed from the heat of the moment, Okudah can appreciate his coach’s approach. But as a self-described “ultimate competitor,” it still stung. Of course, time to reflect also adds perspective. Getting the hook is a temporary embarrassment, a short-term punch in the gut where the chance to rebound is almost immediate. It pales in comparison to losing a year to injury and all the mental and physical hurdles that come with trying to battle through that.
“This is just another battle with adversity,” Okudah said. “I figured out through the course of my career, the best option is to stay resilient, put your head down and keep working until you get to the other side. I would say what helps most is going through the battles I’ve already gone through. I have things I can pull from instead of getting too down on myself. I can pull from knowing what it’s like to truly be down.
“This doesn’t feel like a hurdle that’s too big; it feels like another obstacle to overcome. I think if I approach it with that positive mindset, I put myself in a favorable position to finish the season strong.”
Okudah won’t celebrate his 24th birthday until February, and he is aware enough to know he remains a work in progress, both as a football player and as a man. His tribulations during his two years in Detroit, which included a rocky rookie season, have taught him a great deal about his own mental health. During his brief professional career, he’s learned to not only identify when he’s struggling, but how to work through it, both individually and with the help of others around him.
“People are dealing with stuff and you don’t know about it, so to hear guys be vulnerable and talk about the things they’re going through, I think it gives other guys strength,” Okudah said. “It’s a reminder you’re not alone and what you’re feeling isn’t an irregularity. It’s normal to have those highs and lows, and what matters is how you’re able to respond. The things you’re able to take to come out the other side, when you get through these bouts, you do come out a better person.”
And as a player, he remains relatively inexperienced, particularly after missing all of last year. He says every time he steps on the field, he’s still learning something new. Sometimes, like Saturday, those lessons are tough, but he values them all.
“I remember a coach told me, ‘Every experience in the NFL is beneficial, whether it’s good or bad,'” Okudah said. “Just being able to go through some of these experiences, I just believe they’ll all pay tremendous dividends going forward.”
Something you frequently hear about the cornerback position is a short-term memory is a requirement. You can’t linger on a bad play or a bad game. But, for Okudah, they do linger. He can’t fully let go of a bad performance until the next time he steps on the field, when he can begin the process of correcting his mistakes.
“It will sit on me because it’s the last football memory you have, but once you start practicing and start making new plays, those new memories flush out the old ones and you’re able to rebalance yourself going into the next week,” he said.
He’s already well into the process of flushing out the memories of Saturday and he’s prepping to replace them with plays more reminiscent of his early-season performance.
“Man, he’s come out and attacked the week,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “That’s encouraging to see, and we anticipated that. He’s done that over the last two days. He knows, man. He’s ready to go.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers