The last time Thomas Davis so publicly showed off his right arm, the image almost needed a “WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT” label.
So when the linebacker on Monday gave local media an update after the Panthers returned to start offseason workouts, it was nice to see his arm didn’t still resemble a deflated football.
"It looks pretty good," said Davis, lifting up his arm as cameras clicked. "Can't even tell it was the same arm that I posted."
It was just a couple hours after the Panthers' loss in the Super Bowl when Davis showed the world what he played through. Two Sundays earlier, he had broken his arm in the NFC Championship Game. A day after that, he had a five-inch plate and about a dozen screws put in during surgery.
Raise your hand if you'd want to play a football game two weeks after breaking your arm. Davis did, making seven tackles and playing all 60 snaps on defense. Only when it was over did he start to understand what he had done.
"I couldn't even really lift my daughter up without feeling the pain in my arm," Davis said. "It's just one of those things, the aftereffect after everything calms down and it really starts to set in that you just broke your arm two weeks ago. I had to remind myself, 'OK, you're not supposed to be doing some of this stuff.'"
After the superhuman effort, Davis faced a recovery time like any normal person. 6-8 weeks, mostly without working out. He returned to the gym late last month and is in no danger of missing time during offseason workouts or training camp.
As Davis gets ready for what will be his 12th season, the long scar on his right arm has faded. He's still chasing a Super Bowl win, but he doesn't have much more to prove.
"I think a lot of people were shocked to actually see what it looked like, to actually play in the game like that," Davis said. "A lot of people questioned the reason for me putting the picture out there, but it was strictly just to show people what I'm willing to do for me team, what I'm willing to do for this organization, for this city.
"Like I told y'all after the NFC Championship, if there was any possible way that I could play in that game, I was playing. And I think that proved that."