Argonauts #44 Chad Kackert manages to slip past a grasping Stampeders #33 Chris Randle during the CFL's 100th Grey Cup game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders at the Rogers Centre on Nov 25 2012.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Before Toronto Argonauts' games this year, Chad Kackert has been running pass routes, helping backup quarterback Trevor Harris to get warmed up. And after a few games, something unexpected began to happen for the retired tailback.
Kackert had shattered his left leg and badly dislocated his ankle in a freak accident in practice during last year's playoffs. Told he would never regain the same range of motion in that leg, he was faced with being a shadow of his elusive, crease-hitting self. So he retired and moved on with life, taking a job as the team's strength-and-conditioning coach.
But the 2012 Grey Cup MVP still kept working toward fixing his body and maintaining a game-ready physique. And in those sessions with Harris, the 28-year-old showed he was morphing back into "the old Kack."
"When the season started, it was like, 'Let's just run forward easy and catch the ball.' Then we started making breaks, and he would tell me if it looked like I could get out of my breaks fast or if it looked like I was limping," said Kackert. "Then one day he was a like 'Dude, you look like you used to.' And it felt so good to hear that."
In their pregame tosses before the B.C. game last Friday, rather than asking Harris how he looked, Kackert just knew, and could tell from the quarterback's expression.
"This time, Chad didn't ask me what I thought, he just said 'I'm coming back,' and I just gave him a hug," said Harris, Kackert's close friend. "He stayed really diligent and totally embraced his role as a strength-and-conditioning coach, and at the same time kept working hard himself. When camp started, the guy who used to run a 4.2 40 couldn't run, and for the first time, I think he doubted what might happen. But he's made big strides. I can see him trusting his legs and clearing that last mental hurdle too."
Now, four months after he retired, 5-foot-8, 206-pound Kack is back – or at least added to the team's practice roster. He isn't taking live snaps yet, and there's no timeline for his return to the roster, or any guarantee he'll ever be ready. But he's not holding back in practice.
"It surprised me, because I wasn't sure he would ever play again," said Argos coach Scott Milanovich. "It was a very serious injury for a guy who plays the way he does, with great speed, and he didn't look very good when he got here for training camp. But he has really come a long way in four months."
Kackert had watched in pain from a wheelchair as the Argos lost last year's Eastern Conference final to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Days earlier, while practising for that playoff game, he bumped into a defensive back while running a route, and his foot caught the turf awkwardly and contorted his leg violently enough to shatter his fibula and badly dislocate his ankle. Kackert had experienced his share of injuries in life, but this was the most pain he had ever felt. This one felt different, serious, career-changing.
He was on crutches for three months, and then walking was slow and careful. But it was also painful to retire. The likeable and laid-back California native recalls the gasp from the players at their first team meeting when coaches announced he wasn't on the roster, and their cheer when hearing he would lead their strength-and-conditioning program.
"This wasn't a handout – he went after it, getting certified, researching, talking to other NFL and NCAA strength coaches. And he designed an incredible program for our guys, and has been running it beautifully," said general manager Jim Barker. "When he came to us, I said 'It's up to you and the doctor, but we can put you on the practice roster.' To this day, we don't know for sure if he'll be able to play, but it will be a happy day if I see him line up in our backfield."
The Argos sit two points back of Hamilton and Montreal in the CFL's wide-open East Division with six games left. The Argos lead the league in passing yards with 280 yards a game, but their 92 rushing yards per contest ranks sixth, partly a product of often playing from behind.
Kackert was a star in the 2012 playoffs, running for 139 yards and a touchdown in the East final and 133 yards on 20 carries along with eight catches in the Argos' Grey Cup victory. The speedy back drew interest from the NFL's New York Jets in 2013 before choosing to re-sign in Toronto. He was plagued by injuries last season and appeared in just nine games, rushing for 480 yards rushing on 71 carries before he broke his leg.
Without that same range of motion in the left leg, he knows he needs to adapt if he wants to find his way back into the lineup.
"I don't have a lot of fears, but I just hope I can be the same player I was," said Kackert. "I'm going to be ready whenever they want me to be. I'll tell them honestly how the leg feels, and if they want me on the roster, I'm there.
"If I do get into a game, I hope I can contribute and be the home-run hitter that they expect me to be."
Rachel Brady