In quest to return, Chiefs’ Juan Thornhill says, ‘I’ve never felt this hungry before’
As Chiefs players scurried to dress for practice Wednesday, second-year safety Juan Thornhill stood in front of his locker and quietly put on his pads. His teammates knew he had been progressing from the torn ACL injury that ended his 2019 season. But a return to practice? He’d kept that a secret.
The shoulder pads were a giveaway.
“They were like, ‘Ohhh!’ They really shocked that I was coming back out there,” Thornhill said. “But it seemed like they were excited to see me move.”
Seven months after suffering the torn ligament in his knee while blitzing the quarterback in the season finale, Thornhill is back on the practice field, albeit limited to conditioning and individual drills. It’s a significant step that he has tried to downplay — all the way to the part where he didn’t tell any teammates it would happen.
So it’s fitting that 20 days before the Chiefs open the season against Houston, Thornhill is not putting any timetable on full clearance. He is, however, offering a peek behind the curtain at the mental state that drove the expedience of his rehab.
“I’ve never felt this hungry before,” he said. “I was really hungry coming into the NFL, but with me not being able to play in the playoffs, I felt like I let my team down. I can’t just let myself fall backwards; I have to pick up where I left off and take off.”
The hunger started in Dallas, where he underwent surgery in January. As the Chiefs were storming back from a 24-point deficit against Houston and following up with a victory against Tennessee in the AFC Championship Game, Thornhill laid in front of a TV.
Two weeks later, he had recovered enough to travel to Miami, where he sat in the stands with his girlfriend, the two of them engulfed by screaming fans. He remembers hardly speaking.
“I was so happy, but at the same time, it was eating me alive,” he said. “Just thinking, OK, three weeks ago, I was healthy. I could’ve been playing out there with my teammates on that field. My dream is to play in the Super Bowl. I’m definitely happy that my team won. It just made me more determined for this season and to come back and pick up where I left off.”
Therein rests much of the frustration. The first major injury of Thornhill’s career halted obvious progress. He described his introduction to the NFL as “rusty.” You can see the rookie mistakes when you watch the film, he explained.
But he found a groove over the back half of the year. The game slowed down. The plays came to him. He intercepted three passes, and he returned one for a 46-yard touchdown in a December game against the Raiders. As he settled into his role, the Chiefs’ trust grew, and they were free to move safety Tyrann Mathieu all over the field and closer to the line of scrimmage.
“I thought Juan got better every week,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s a talented kid. It’s just a matter of getting out and doing it. Every week, he improved. I know he’s looking forward to getting back in there and playing. He’s been able to ramp up here a little bit and get a little work in the last couple days.”
Hours after Thornhill suffered the injury, Mathieu approached him in the locker room. Having gone through two ACL repairs, Mathieu offered advice: Stay positive.
The message stuck as Thornhill cycled through repetitious movements in his rehab. Throughout the process, he posted messages of positivity across his social media pages.
As the return inches closer, nothing in that realm has changed.
“The first thing I wanted to do is just be positive throughout this whole process,” he said, adding, “I’m not really thinking too much about trying to stay on a pace. While I’m out there, I know that I’m doing individuals, so my mind is strictly focused on doing what I’m supposed to do.
“I’m not thinking about the knee. I’m trying to just move as much as I can and just work through it. That’s pretty much all I’ve been doing, and hopefully I can get back out there.”