Sione Takitaki 'getting stronger and healthier' a year removed from Browns LB's ACL tear
LOS ANGELES — Sione Takitaki sat on an exercise ball off to the side of one of UCLA's practice field last Thursday and pondered the importance of Monday.
"Dang, I didn't know," the Browns linebacker said in an exclusive interview with the Beacon Journal. "I didn't know it was Monday. I knew it was coming up, but I really didn't really lock in on the actual date."
So what was this grand anniversary which, in a way, caught the fifth-year pro by surprise? What could've been important enough that Takitaki knew about its existence, but wasn't certain of the date?
It was one year to the day Takitaki sustained a season-ending ACL tear. It was one year to the day the Browns linebacker feared his career might not be the same.
It's turned out to be just another day, in a lot of ways. That's also part of the remembering.
"Yeah, you kind of think about it, you know what I mean?" Takitaki said. "But it's kind of good. I like that a year mark's coming up because it's getting stronger and healthier. and that callus is kind of building with the ACL. Like I said, never really put a lot thought about it, but it is pretty crazy to think about. I'll definitely reflect on the day and — you know what I mean? — think about the journey."
A year ago on Dec. 4, the Browns were in Houston to face the Texans. The game, which the Browns won 27-14, was mostly remembered as the day Deshaun Watson made his return from suspension and his debut with his new team.
However, with 5:30 remaining in the game, Takitaki remained down on the NRG Stadium turf while his teammates fought to recover a fumbled punt. In that moment — and beyond — there was a lot of thoughts racing through his mind.
"Football has kind of been my life, basically my whole life, since I was 9 years old," Takitaki said. "So just kind of think about, it's kind of crazy, but you know what I mean? I don't like to think like that. I mean, injuries happen in the game, you don't want to dwell on it too much. Obviously it was an ACL. It's a big injury. You don't want to have big injuries in your career.
"But I look at football like a jump-starter for my next life. I mean, things that I'm going to pursue after my career at football. So I definitely want to play as long as I can."
That required maybe the hardest offseason push of Takitaki's life. Not only was he trying to recover from the injury, he was doing so while also becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Takitaki underwent surgery for the injury on Dec. 14. At the time of the surgery, mid-October was seen as the potential target for his return to play.
The only problem was that target date didn't take into account the person going through the recovery. Or, for Takitaki, the people he leaned on to help him get through the process, starting with his wife, Alyssa, and his family.
"Just a lot of people to be thankful about," said Takitaki, who re-signed with the Browns almost as soon as the free-agency period started in mid-March. "I wouldn't have gotten through it with a lot of people's help. Definitely a village, you know what I mean? Just kind of the support they've given me, all the resources that I was given by the Browns and everybody else.
"My wife, man. Like I said, I'll mention it again, just being there through those tough times early on in the surgery, I'm just really thankful for a lot of people."
When the Browns stayed in California, it allowed Sione Takitaki to re-connect with family
As Takitaki reflected on the past 360 or so days, he sat some 65 miles from his hometown of Fontana, Calif. The Browns spent the week leading into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams in Southern California, giving him a chance to re-connect with his home area.
Takitaki spent some time in the area during his recovery as well. He also went back to Utah, the state in which he played college football at BYU.
All of it was with the goal to miss as little time as possible in the season. Turns out, Takitaki didn't miss any time at all, making his first appearance on the season on the second defensive series of the opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"It's been pretty fast," Takitaki told the Beacon Journal before the opener. "You try to attack every single day, so just like that, you're back to the season. It flew by, just by taking advantage of every single day."
A dozen weeks later, on the anniversary weekend of his knee injury, Takitaki was on the field in his home state as the Browns lost 36-19 to the Rams. While he insisted the game didn't have any extra meaning to him, he also acknowledged he had a lot of family and friends in the stands at SoFi Stadium.
Instead, the motivation for Takitaki was what it was for the Browns' first 11 games.
"It motivates you to go out there and put some great tape, go out there and make some plays for everybody that supported me with what I've been through this last year," Takitaki said. "But, like I said, man, I like to keep the main thing, the main thing, man. The main thing is we want to get this win.
"You hear it all the time — you don't want to make the situation bigger than what it is, you know what I mean? You want to stay locked in, stay focused, 17-game [season]. So just kind of lock in."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sione Takitaki 'getting stronger and healthier' a year after ACL tear
