David Quessenberry is no longer a guy trying to come back to play in an NFL game after a cancer diagnosis.
He’s done it.
The Texans offensive lineman played in last night’s game against the Panthers, his first time in a game since he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin T-lymphoblastic lymphoma three years ago.
“I was nervous for about three days leading up to this,” Quessenberry said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. “Even a preseason game. It was probably the most nervous I’ve been for a football game in my life. Before the game I got really emotional when I saw some of my family out there on the sideline. But once the first play started, it was back to football.”
Quessenberry’s last chemotherapy treatment was in April, and he’s practiced since OTAs this spring. But he’s been on the team’s non-football injury list since 2015, when the 2013 sixth-rounder was diagnosed.
“To come from where he’s come from, it’s just incredible that he just played in an NFL football game,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said, . “I’m telling you, just think about that — all that he’s been through. How special he is to this organization. To be able to go out there and play in an NFL game is a pretty big deal.”
Quessenberry was surprised during pre-game when his family showed up for the game in Charlotte, and he was floored by the reception he got from teammates.
"[My teammates] know everything I’ve been through,” Quessenberry said. “They see me go through chemo, they see me with no hair. And to be back in that jersey . . . it was really big.
“Before the game I was just thinking about how long it’s been. It was perfect.”
