Josh Doctson managing the pain, not using it as an excuse

[Hogs]

Josh Doctson‘s career so far has been defined by the injuries that have kept him from delivering on his vast potential.

But the Washington wide receiver doesn’t think they’re an excuse, and doesn’t want to spend much time talking about any pain he might be playing in.

Doctson told Les Carpenter of the Washington Post that his heel’s still hurting (after persistent Achilles problems), but that the pain is manageable.

“You try to ask people to sympathize with us, but in reality it’s hard to do because nobody’s experienced it,” Doctson said. “You can’t understand it. But we’re all human; we’re not superheroes. We might look like it, but everybody hurts. We bleed like everybody else bleeds, so everybody’s going through something, dealing with something. You just got to like understand it: We’re all human, man; we all feel pain.”

Doctson is wearing extra padding in the back of his shoe to protect the area from being kicked, which tends to happen.

He had a career-high 44 catches last year, showing signs of being productive. But the team didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, making this a contract year for him, and a chance to prove himself on the field, and that he can push through the pain.