Colts medical professionals discovered Raekwon Davis had a high blood pressure problem; Davis expressed gratitude
Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Raekwon Davis began training camp on the non-football illness list for reasons that were initially unclear. This week, after being activated, Davis revealed the issue: he had high blood pressure.
"I'm very thankful [to the medical
staff] for detecting this problem, especially with all we've seen lately
regarding high blood pressure and heart-related incidents," Davis said on
Tuesday, according to Stephen Holder of ESPN. "It was a challenge to get
back, but now I'm working on regaining my fitness."
Davis returned during a rigorous joint practice session with the Cincinnati Bengals, a tough reintroduction to the field. The defensive tackle, who celebrated his 27th birthday today (happy birthday, Raekwon!), is set to play in the Colts' final preseason game on Thursday night as he gears up for the season.
Indianapolis signed the 6-foot-7, 325-pound Alabama alum this offseason as a rotational player behind DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart on the defensive line. In his previous four seasons with Miami, Davis primarily played as a 2-gap defender, but Gus Bradley's defense favors a more aggressive, penetrating style for its interior linemen. The Colts are hopeful Davis can adapt to this role.
With 18 days remaining before the
regular-season opener against the Houston Texans, Davis has time to get back
into shape and integrate himself into the team's defensive system.