Philadelphia Eagles

Why Landon Dickerson says he's thankful for his injuries

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You might think Landon Dickerson looks back at his rash of injuries in college as a nightmare. Like he’s jinxed. Like he’ll never be able to stay healthy.

On the contrary.

Dickerson, the Eagles’ 2nd-round pick last week, said he’s actually thankful for the injuries that prematurely ended four of his five college football seasons.

Appearing on the 94 WIP Morning Show on Wednesday, he explained why in a conversation with Angelo Cataldi, who asked how frustrating his injuries have been.

“It’s not necessarily frustrating,” Dickerson said. “Injuries are a learning experience really in my opinion. I don’t ever sit back and think, ‘I could have done this differently.’ They’re in the past and you can’t change that. My mindset is let’s learn from it and move on and see what we can do different next time. 

“For me, it kind of sounds bad, but I’ve been thankful for them because these injuries have taught me a lot about who I am as a player mentally, and physically what I need to do to take care of my body and go about it so I can take care of myself and act like a professional when it comes to football.”

As a true freshman at Florida State in the fall of 2016, Dickerson started seven games at right guard before tearing his right ACL at an early November practice, ending his season. He started at left guard as a sophomore in 2017 before his season ended after four games with a right ankle injury he initially suffered against Wake Forest and then aggravated against Miami. As a junior he was playing right tackle when he hurt his ankle against Virginia Tech. He missed four games, then returned for Louisville as a left tackle and aggravated the injury and missed the rest of the season.

He graduated that spring from Florida State but with two years of eligibility remaining transferred to Alabama, where he earned his masters in business administration. He played injury-free in the fall of 2019 but then suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the SEC Championship Game against Florida.

He started a total of 25 games at Florida State and Alabama combined.

The Eagles made Dickerson the 37th pick overall, which is quite a risk considering Dickerson’s injury history.

But if he’s healthy, he has Pro Bowl potential.

Dickerson said injuries are sometimes unavoidable, but he said getting hurt so often has helped him learn how to best take care of himself and at least reduce the chances of getting re-injured.

“I feel good about how I take care of myself moving forward,” he said. “I know what I need to do lifting wise, diet wise, rehab wise to keep my body feeling good throughout the season. Football’s a weird sport. Things happen that you can’t control. From my end I feel like I’m taking all the necessary steps to take care of my body.”

Dickerson said since he was drafted on Friday he’s heard all about Philadelphia and Eagles fans and said his personality and mentality match up perfectly with Eagles fans.

“I couldn’t think of a better place to be,” he said. “I’ve heard that the fans, they’re one-of-a-kind, diehard, they’re going to die for their team, and that’s what I’m looking for, because I’m the same way with my team. So I’m just really excited to be surrounded by a fan base that’s all in.”

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