The tattoo on his lower left leg is hard to miss: NBA legend Kobe Bryant, in his No. 24 jersey, with a halo over his head.
And for Detroit Lions linebacker Austin Bryant, getting it was about more than honoring the Los Angeles Lakers star after he was killed in a helicopter crash last year.
“That tattoo means a lot to me,” Bryant said Wednesday. “The Mamba mentality, a lot of athletes know about that. Especially during my rehab process, I leaned on Kobe motivational videos and just knowing what type of person he was as a whole to keep pushing every day cause it gets boring going to 6 a.m. rehab for two years straight for the same injury. Just having that on me and just having that mentality really helped me come back stronger than I was before.”
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Bryant has had a star-crossed NFL career since the Lions made him a fourth-round pick out of Clemson in 2019.
He played through a torn pectoral muscle as a college senior that eventually required surgery, then suffered a similar injury in the first week of his first training camp in Detroit.
He opened last season on the physically unable to perform list because of the same injury, then missed time late in the year with an assortment of other ailments.
On Friday, Bryant, in his third NFL season, is expected to play in his first ever preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
“I’m really grateful, man, to finally be healthy,” Bryant said. “I went through what I went through. I don’t regret it at all. I think it made me a better person, better player at the end of the day. But now I’m just grateful to have an opportunity to help the team with this new staff, new culture, so I’m just grateful, man.”
During rehab, Bryant said, he read books on Kobe Bryant and listened to podcasts featuring the former NBA star as a way to fully embrace the Mamba mentality.
He called Kobe Bryant “my favorite athlete of all-time” and joked Wednesday, “That’s also my uncle, if y’all didn’t know by the last name.”
“The Mamba mentality helped me out a lot throughout that process,” Austin Bryant said. “And it stuck with me. Stuck with me each and every day. That’s on my mind every day when I come out here, just trying to get better. Be the best teammate I can be, be the best player that I can and help this organization win for this city.”
Bryant, who spent the first week of camp this year on the PUP list for undisclosed reasons, has played well so far this summer.
Working primarily with the second-team defense at outside linebacker, Bryant has shown enough flashes of pass-rushing ability to think he could be a contributor on defense — if he can stay healthy.
“The opportunity’s definitely there,” outside linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard said. “It’s glaring right now, and he has flashed and showed up. The thing with him is health and consistency, and that’s something we preach every day. And I think just the mind thing with him, that leads back to me. And that’s a trust thing. And AB knows, I need it from you every day but at the same time, I’m going to take care of you. If something’s not right, you tell me, I’m getting you out.”
Bryant, who has two quarterback hits and no sacks in 10 career games, said he sharpened his pass-rush skills this offseason by working with a private coach, Nate O’Neal.
In camp, he has unleashed a tough-to-stop spin move he honed by watching former Indianapolis Colts defensive end Robert Mathis and other NFL greats.
“It’s just a change-up,” he said. “I’m a long, strong guy so they’re expecting speed to power, speed to power and it’s just a good change-up. Just kind of happens, it’s a natural feel for the game.”
With Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara locked into starting spots and Julian Okwara and Charles Harris competing for rotation roles at outside linebacker, Bryant likely needs a strong preseason to carve out a meaningful role this fall.
He said he likes how the Lions’ new defensive system fits his “aggressive, attacking” mindset as a player. And he said he’s trying to be like the Bryant on his leg on the field.
“I got a chance to holistically get better as a player (this offseason), from the weight room to the field without having to worry about a rehab process or anything like that,” he said. “Man, that’s been awesome for me. Was able to dedicate a lot of time to perfecting my craft and being the player that I want to be. So now that I finally get to showcase and show people what I already know about myself, that’s been the most fulfilling thing this camp.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.