But for the linemen who have been around him since his rookie season, the getting up is what they’ve come to expect from their quarterback.
“I feel like he’s been tough, but he definitely showed his toughness this past weekend,” Moton said. “I’m happy he’s able to come back in and finish the game for us, because I love playing with him.”
Even though they weren’t sure he was coming back, there was no big stir when he did reappear in the huddle for the next possession.
“We went to business,” Moton said. “He just has a laser focus about him. He’s very in his zone, his flow state, whatever that is, and he just came in, we went right back to work, and led us to a victory. I was excited to see him come back for sure.”
Like Moton, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu has seen this since Day 1, recognizing early in his rookie year that Young had the kind of street cred required to survive in the NFL.
That’s one thing for offensive linemen, who live their lives in car crashes, usually 60 or 70 a game. So when they see a smaller human being taking a shot and popping right up, it does something for the team and their perception of him.
“I mean, for sure,” Ekwonu said. “It definitely sent a message like, if he feels like he can be out there, he’s going to be out there fighting for us, so it’s definitely inspiring.
“It’s nice to know that we’re all in the fight together. You know he can be out there; he’s not going to go down unless he has to. It’s definitely good to see he’s going to be in there fighting for us and with us.”