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Having spent his eight weeks rehabbing a foot injury suffered near the end of the preseason, October 31 marks the first day of practice that the Bills can bring Brooks back if they so choose. There is still some uncertainty, however, whether or not the team will bring the rookie back this week.
"Don't make answer that one yet," head coach Chan Gailey replied when asked if they would in fact activate Brooks. "But we're getting him ready to play in case we do."
There was talk on Monday that a roster spot could open up for the young cornerback with the rather serious injury suffered by guard Chad Rinehart against the Tennessee Titans. Rinehart has been seen around the locker room on a self-propelled cart that allows him to rest the knee of his injured leg on a pad to help him get around a bit more easily.
The move, if done, would be to place Rinehart on I-R and make Brooks the sixth cornerback on the roster. No matter if it's done on Wednesday, Thursday or even later, the rookie is keeping himself prepared.
"Basically [I'm] just playing it by ear seeing what they're going to do and how they're gonna go about this," Brooks said. "But, everything is really out of my control. It's just, sit back and see what the coaches want to do."
While Brooks was away, no one besides first-round pick Stephon Gilmore have really done enough to cement their significant positions on the defense. For the fourth-round pick out of LSU, Brooks certainly has quite an opportunity laid before him if he can work his way back.
"I'm not looking at it as a rookie. I'm just looking at it [as], 'I'm a player,'" he said. "Nobody wants to sit on the sideline, or be out, or any of those things. I'm a competitor, so I'm going out there to compete and fight for my job."
With all the time Brooks has missed for on-the-field, there could be some trepidation with rushing him out there too soon. At least that's the worry of Gailey.
"He has come along. He has had no setbacks whatsoever, so that is a positive, too," the head coach said. "How much he knows and how much he can catch up, that will be a determining factor. Physically he is fine."
As for Brooks, he isn't all that concerned over that with all the work he's tried to put in during his eight-week playing hiatus.
"Not really, it was more of little adjustments and things like that," he said. "I was in all the meetings while I was out. Went through all the meetings and things like that. So it really wasn't nothing that I hadn't seen already. It was just more so putting myself on the field and going through those and getting the repetitions."
Now that he's getting the work in practice, Brooks has been moved all around as the Bills attempt to get him ready for a return. With Aaron Williams and Justin Rogers struggling, and Terrence McGee still battling through his lingering knee injury, there could be some opportunities for the rookie.
"I've been going both places, nickel and corner," Brooks remarked, although he didn't say if they were first-team reps. "Just trying to make sure that I've learned everything that they've made little adjustments to during the season that I was gone."
The Bills are eligible to activate Brooks at any point of the remainder of the regular season. Each NFL team only gets one player they designate to return from I-R after spending a minimum of eight weeks off the active roster. Brooks received the designation on Tuesday, September 4.
The Bills take on the Houston Texans on Sunday. Brooks is a native of Dallas, TX.
"Don't make answer that one yet," head coach Chan Gailey replied when asked if they would in fact activate Brooks. "But we're getting him ready to play in case we do."
There was talk on Monday that a roster spot could open up for the young cornerback with the rather serious injury suffered by guard Chad Rinehart against the Tennessee Titans. Rinehart has been seen around the locker room on a self-propelled cart that allows him to rest the knee of his injured leg on a pad to help him get around a bit more easily.
The move, if done, would be to place Rinehart on I-R and make Brooks the sixth cornerback on the roster. No matter if it's done on Wednesday, Thursday or even later, the rookie is keeping himself prepared.
"Basically [I'm] just playing it by ear seeing what they're going to do and how they're gonna go about this," Brooks said. "But, everything is really out of my control. It's just, sit back and see what the coaches want to do."
While Brooks was away, no one besides first-round pick Stephon Gilmore have really done enough to cement their significant positions on the defense. For the fourth-round pick out of LSU, Brooks certainly has quite an opportunity laid before him if he can work his way back.
"I'm not looking at it as a rookie. I'm just looking at it [as], 'I'm a player,'" he said. "Nobody wants to sit on the sideline, or be out, or any of those things. I'm a competitor, so I'm going out there to compete and fight for my job."
With all the time Brooks has missed for on-the-field, there could be some trepidation with rushing him out there too soon. At least that's the worry of Gailey.
"He has come along. He has had no setbacks whatsoever, so that is a positive, too," the head coach said. "How much he knows and how much he can catch up, that will be a determining factor. Physically he is fine."
As for Brooks, he isn't all that concerned over that with all the work he's tried to put in during his eight-week playing hiatus.
"Not really, it was more of little adjustments and things like that," he said. "I was in all the meetings while I was out. Went through all the meetings and things like that. So it really wasn't nothing that I hadn't seen already. It was just more so putting myself on the field and going through those and getting the repetitions."
Now that he's getting the work in practice, Brooks has been moved all around as the Bills attempt to get him ready for a return. With Aaron Williams and Justin Rogers struggling, and Terrence McGee still battling through his lingering knee injury, there could be some opportunities for the rookie.
"I've been going both places, nickel and corner," Brooks remarked, although he didn't say if they were first-team reps. "Just trying to make sure that I've learned everything that they've made little adjustments to during the season that I was gone."
The Bills are eligible to activate Brooks at any point of the remainder of the regular season. Each NFL team only gets one player they designate to return from I-R after spending a minimum of eight weeks off the active roster. Brooks received the designation on Tuesday, September 4.
The Bills take on the Houston Texans on Sunday. Brooks is a native of Dallas, TX.