He was smiling and joking with teammates as he left the locker room on crutches with a brace on his knee, but that belied the uncertainty ahead of him.
“It was hard, man, because Ickey was excited,” guard Robert Hunt said. “Ickey was ready to play. Ickey had a lot of juice. Ickey was ready to play, man, and to lose that energy, it was kind of tough, but Yosh stepped in and did a really good job.
“I mean, I love Ickey, man. Ickey came in and joked, you know, he’s just being Ickey, so, Icky’s all right. Ickey’s going to attack it the right way. Ickey’s going to be OK, and Ickey’s going to come back.
Ekwonu had missed the Dec. 21 Buccaneers game here with a knee issue, and quarterback Bryce Young said that Ekwonu has been battling throughout the year to stay on the field for the 15 games he played (he missed the opener while recovering from a preseason appendectomy.
“I feel for him, so much, such a warrior,” quarterback Bryce Young said. “Obviously he’s played so much, and probably from the outside looking in you’d think he’s just been in perfect health, but he’s been battling every week. He’s been in the training room, doing all the little things.
“He’s been pushing through a lot of pain, and you know he’s a warrior. He’s a huge part of, of us as a team. I really feel for him, so, yeah, it’s tough to see that.”
