NFL.com's Adam Schein ranked Brian Cushing as the NFL's second-most indispensable defensive player on Thursday.
He probably wouldn't get much argument from Houston Texans defensive end Antonio Smith.
"Brian Cushing's gonna come back and be ... " Smith said Thursday, pausing to consider his comparison, according to Nick Scurfield of HoustonTexans.com. "He was already 'Super Cush'; I can't call him 'Mega Cush' because of J.J. (Watt). 'Ultimate Cush.' Like the Ultimate Warrior.
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"Have you been seeing him over there working out? I've never seen him move like that before, all trimmed and cut up. Looks like a julienne salad."
Smith is one of the most hilarious characters in the NFL. While his comparison of Cushing to a salad with stripped meats might be peculiar, you get the point.
Cushing continues to rehab from a torn ACL and expects to be back ready for the start of the 2013 season. For Smith, that means some offensive linemen will have some restless nights.
"In my book, I told everybody when I first got here and got to see him, he's gonna be one of the great ones," said Smith, who signed with the Texans in 2009. "He's gonna be one of them Hall of Fame linebackers if he stays healthy. Offensive linemen throughout the league fear him. Running backs surely fear him. He's just one of those players that's relentless, and he hits with bad intentions."
Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.