For JL Skinner, the post-injury mental hurdle was the biggest one

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — JL Skinner played 31 snaps in his Broncos debut Aug. 11 against Arizona. It marked his first game-time action since he tore his pectoral muscle in March.

But it wasn’t until eight days later, when he took the field again against San Francisco, that the Broncos’ sixth-round pick felt like his true self.

“I wasn’t as comfortable at all last week,” Skinner said. “I was a little more hesitant than I usually am. Coming off of the pec, and then just (having) a lot of things going through my mind, mentally wondering if it was strong enough and stuff like that.

“Being able to get that game out of the way and being able to play more free this week and fly around, it was a lot of fun. I needed that, for sure.”

The stat lines weren’t all that different. He had one solo stop in both games, although he added two assists during the 21-20 loss to the 49ers on Saturday.

The live repetitions were a necessity for Skinner, whose physicality caught the Broncos’ attention in the pre-draft process.

“Oh, yeah, for sure, because whenever you make a mistake on the field — especially with live bullets like this, you kind of think about them, even after the game,” Skinner said. “So, being able to get these reps and see how I can see things faster and see certain movements and such like that, it’s just way better.

“And you can really only get acclimated to football by playing the game, for sure.”

He couldn’t take part in OTAs and minicamp because of the injury. During those months, he was limited to mental reps.

“I tore my pec in March, and then I came back this season, before camp. So, that was really one of my first live-action reps since I’ve had my surgery,” Skinner said, “and it felt good, because just breaking that mental barrier, knowing that I can do it, and then, you
continue to be physical like I was before.”

And that’s what he did Saturday.

I’m 100 percent physically. [Against the 49ers,] I took a step mentally, in that aspect,” Skinner said. “Because I did come back from it — really early. So, really having that first hit and just having that first action, I feel more comfortable, and I can just continue that each week.”

Being a sixth-round pick, Skinner has no guarantee of a spot on the primary roster. And with Delarrin Turner-Yell emerging as a core special-teamer — and earning the praise of special-teams coordinator Ben Kotwica last week — the path to a place on the 53-player roster could be narrow.

But if Skinner can show enough between between now and next week, he’s got a shot. What’s more, he’s past what he felt was the hardest part: the afore-mentioned “mental barrier.”

“Knowing that I can break that mental barrier down, that this shoulder’s all good, this pec’s all good, it’s all healthy — it felt really good, for sure,” he said.

***