Skip to main content
Advertising

Feeling rejuvenated, RB Portis believes he can make impact

With Clinton Portis about to turn 30 and coming off two injury-riddled seasons, it'd be fair to conclude that the running back's best days are in the rearview mirror.

Don't tell Portis that. He'll be a free agent when the NFL lockout is lifted, and he's confident he has quality football ahead of him.

"I think (age is) just a number," Portis told WTEM-AM in Washington D.C. on Friday. "You're saying I turned 30 (he'll be 30 on Sept. 1), but I had a slate of two years where I really haven't done anything. So right now, I feel good and feel better at this point than I have in a long time, just feeling like I'm completely healthy, just feeling like things are totally healed. And now that I know what I need to do and what I need to get accomplished, I'm fine with that."

Portis enjoyed several elite seasons with the Denver Broncos, who drafted him in 2002, and the Washington Redskins, who acquired him in a 2004. But the NFL grind seems to have worn on Portis, with injuries limiting him to just 13 total games in 2009 and 2010.

And while durability concerns -- one of the reasons the Redskins released Portis in February -- now are part of the package, the two-time Pro Bowl running back looks at the missed time as a blessing in a way.

"The injuries the last two years has really been a lot of rest for myself," Portis said. "And with the lockout going on this year, I had the opportunity to go out to Arizona and fully recover and train and straighten out some of the things that were ailing me that I didn't even have a clue of."

Portis has an open mind about where he'd like to play next season, though years of losing in Washington have him itching to join a contender.

"Any team I can help. I think I have choices, but any team that I can help that's really a contender," said Portis, who boasts six 1,000-yard seasons. "I would love to go to ... I've always been a fan of Drew Brees, I've been a fan of Philip Rivers, I think the young kid down in Tampa (Josh Freeman) is going to be great. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Michael Vick, it's a lot of guys.

"I just want to go to an organization that's kind of stable and going to have a set offense and running with what they're familiar with."

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.