WEBVTT - Big Red Rage - A Lost Finger And A Trip To Mexico 0:00:01.960 --> 0:00:04.880 Strap on the boots and scrape up the knuckles. Oh 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:08.559 and ahead, he got jacked. This is the Big Red 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:14.040 Rain presented by Santanford in Gilbert. Mary's Gonna score touchdown. 0:00:14.240 --> 0:00:17.160 Slim to the Ground by Buddha Baker Like a torpedo. 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:22.759 He came flying into the backfield. The range is brought 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:27.600 to you by satan Ford in Gilbert. Are you Santanford 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:31.360 State Farm talk to an agent today at eight hundred 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:37.080 State Farm, and by Arizona Cardinals Podcasts visit Hacy Cardinals 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:45.879 dot com, Slash Podcasts, The Reds Rising Guard, Temperaturizing vision, blurring, 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:50.320 rage taking over. Here's Paul Calvci. I'm ready. I'm one 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:54.200 hundred percent ready. I'm telling you i'mready. And Ron Wolflee. 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:58.720 It doesn't get any better than that. Unleash the far. 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.319 Welcome in everyone to the Big Red Raid presented by 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:08.280 santan Ford and Gilbert On. Paul Calvc, Ron Wolfley on assignment. Okay, 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:10.600 he's on vacation. That's fine because you know what. We're 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:12.720 going to run the up tempo here tonight. We are 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:17.400 proud to continue with our encore presentation of Cardinal's Folk Tales, 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:20.880 where you can't spell history without the word story all 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:24.880 time anecdotes in Cardinal's History, and tonight it's two for one. 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:27.319 A little bit later, we're gonna go back to Mexico 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:31.240 City two thousand and five revisit the Cardinal's historic trip 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:34.360 to a Stadio Azteca. But off the top, we might 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.360 need to apologize in advance here, considering it's dinner time, 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:39.920 because maybe you've heard the cliche leave a piece of 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:43.600 yourself out on that field. Well, former Cardinals safety Rashad 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:49.560 Johnson did exactly that back in two thirteen at New Orleans. 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:52.480 As we hit the play button on this Cardinal's folk 0:01:52.520 --> 0:02:00.320 tales titled nine More, hearing about people climb through a 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:02.720 garbage can to get a fingertipped out of a glove 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.880 and all that even now kind of giving me the willies. 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:07.680 I mean, you get your finger caught in the door 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:11.639 or something. It hurts, so I can't even imagine it's gruesome. 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:16.440 The New Orleans Voodoo Woodoo was a little crazy that week. 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:19.280 When I heard about it, I was like, what they're doing? What? Like, 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:22.079 how did that happen? And in that moment, machinery comes in. 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.639 I mean, where's the rest of the finger. It was 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:27.280 just like, oh, y'all looking for his finger. Just check 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:29.360 the trash. I think it's in his glove. You may 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:31.360 want to get that glove out of the garbage can 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:33.519 and see what the rest of the finger looks like. 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:36.040 And the glove is still intact, you know, it's normal, 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.160 and like, let's just cut on up the finger and see. 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.880 And they cut up the finger and it just falls 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:44.000 right there on the table. We found out later that 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:46.280 he got his fingers stuck in this little small hole 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.760 in the side of the guy's helmet and it just 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:51.560 snapped it off. Boom. My head didn't happen. And I'm 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:53.840 trying to shake it off, but as I'm shaking it, 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:58.040 it's like some fires on the tip of it. The 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:02.520 a result of Cardinals last a football game, safety Rashaw 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:07.200 Johnson lost a piece of himself. Literally, how do you 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:09.640 explain to the coaches this, Yeah, he lost a finger, 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.480 and you know he's not gonna be ready. I don't 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:14.600 know how long I'm telling you. Rashaw I thought it 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:16.760 was like a war story. How he was explaining it 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:18.600 to everybody. Look at my finger, you know, I'm just 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:21.440 sending them pictures of it. And like it's just what 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:25.280 how did that happen? Like, what's going on? No rehab, 0:03:25.760 --> 0:03:31.359 no replacement, no growing back. Rashaw Johnson didn't give the 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:35.520 finger to New Orleans. He gave a finger. Look, I'm 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:38.320 missing a finger, so ten percent off? Are we can't? 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:43.119 The price isn't good. Welcome to Cardinal's Folk Tales nine More, 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:46.880 presented by Sky, where we go in depth into Cardinal's 0:03:46.960 --> 0:03:51.160 history all time anecdotes through the recollections and memories of 0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:53.840 those who lived it or in my case, those who 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:57.040 covered it. My name is Paul KELBC, Cardinal's sideline reporter. 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.200 This is the story of how Rashaw Johnson and his 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:05.000 finger went viral, how his middle finger became the same 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:08.800 length as his index finger. I think, looking back on 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.240 it now, we didn't realize how big of a story 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.600 it was. Sean Johnson, He's probably saying I had to 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:15.080 lose the tip of my finger to get on the 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:17.560 Dan Patrick Show. The question was asked like, hey man, 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:19.360 you know you lost a portion of your finger. You 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:21.600 lost a finger, you know, Like, what are you gonna do? 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:34.720 I got nine more. Here's Paul or Sean Johnson out 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.320 of the game right now? A finger injury and his 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:40.279 return is considered questionable. Guys just wanted to send that update. 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:43.600 We had no idea at the time of the injury. 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:47.400 That brief sideline report was because we weren't briefed on 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:52.480 the severity of the injury until well the gloves came off. 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:55.160 Look as an NFL player, you're paid a lot of money, 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.679 partly because you run the risk of paying a heavy price. 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:04.200 Like September twenty second, twenty thirteen, Cardinals against the Saints, 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:09.720 Week three, headed in the New Orleans Superdome, Sean Payton, 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:15.159 Drew Brees, Michael Colston, big challenge for our secondary, really 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:17.840 excited about the opportunity to go in and play this game, 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.000 and for Rashad as a starting safety and one of 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.839 the best tacklers on the roster, his duties included special 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:28.720 teams and maybe the toughest task of all, trying to 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:32.480 corral the Saints three time Pro Bowl return man. They 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:34.920 have Darren Spros, who probably will be in the Hall 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:38.600 of Fame one day. I'll just gone gone. Record hell 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.920 of a player, was a great player for the Saints, 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:44.520 and everybody that knows Darren Spros, you know he's a 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:48.279 smaller guy, quicker guy. He is so difficult to tackle. 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:51.080 He's I mean, he's like trying to catch a soap 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:55.960 bubble on a beach's brutal. You're not always gonna get 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.520 a big shot, big hit on him. A lot of 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:02.400 times you're gonna be regent. That's former Cardinals dB Gerard Powers. 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:06.520 And that is foreshadowing because in a seven seven game, 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:09.880 late first half, the Cardinals on punk cover and here 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:13.719 comes that five foot six, one hundred ninety pounds stick 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:18.040 of dynamite hi kick backing up, Sprawls, waits for it fields. 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:20.760 It is fourteen runs right to the twenty to the 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.000 twenty five yard line. So let's a tackle at the 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:25.400 thirty close up the thirty five of the forty yard line, 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:27.039 and they can finally get to him at the forty 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:31.000 one yard line. All right, goodness, is he dangerous? Jasper 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:33.920 Brinkley with a special team's tackle. A handful of other 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:38.719 Cardinals whiffed, And for one Cardinal it was for good reason. 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:43.279 Kind of a crazy play, fluke injury covering a punt. 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:46.720 You know, a routine play that I've done a million times. 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:49.800 We punt the ball down and I'm going to cover it. 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.880 Darren Sprows is the returner, and I initiate a blocker, 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:55.720 and in that moment when I initiate him, I just 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:58.320 shed away and go in to make the tackle. At 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:02.440 this point when roche finger gets caught in his helmet, 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:04.520 he was at a point and he was trying to 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:07.600 reach to make a tackle, and everything happened so fast 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:10.800 that when he reached and I guess his finger gets 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.280 caught in the crossbar of his helmet. I go to 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.040 the huddle and I get the call, and I played 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:18.520 the next down. And for some of our reason, like 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:23.160 my hand is just intensely intensifying, the pain is getting worse, 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.400 and that's when we're shod. And his bloody glove caught 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:29.720 the attention of Cardinals, said trainer Tom Reid. Run up 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:32.760 beside him and immediately noticing his glove. There's a lot 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:35.200 of blood, and I look down and before I know it, 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:38.920 my white glove is it's far hot red. It's blood everywhere. 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:41.720 I come off the field, and you know, just thinking like, hey, 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:44.760 maybe I lost the nail. Maybe you know something happened there. 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:48.160 They run inside and get him on the table with 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:51.480 a bunch of gauze and gulls under and over his 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:55.320 hand and carefully peeled back his glove. The excitement that 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:57.600 I had was beginning to wear off, and before I 0:07:57.720 --> 0:07:59.800 know it, I could feel my heartbeat in my hand. 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:02.520 It's like my hand is beating at the same rhythm 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:04.440 as my heart. And all I can say is to 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:06.720 the Doctor's like, hey, man, I need some drugs, Like 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.040 I need something. He's like, well, we have to fully 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:12.040 evaluate you before we can actually give you something, and 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:13.560 you know, so give us a chance to get the 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:17.080 glove off. And that's when things got ugly. And it's 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.600 right about now that the medical staff realize they're not 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:23.920 going to be able to put their finger on the 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:27.480 problem without the rest of the glove. They get just 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:29.680 to the end where there's probably about just the tip 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:33.880 of their finger left with dissecting back to glove, take 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:36.479 it off and throw it in the garbage. Doctor Watzluski 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:38.280 puts a bunch of gauze on his finger because there's 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:41.640 blood flying everywhere, right, and in that moment, machinery comes in. 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:44.680 I mean, where's the rest of the finger? The machine 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:48.199 would be assistant trainer Jim Sheer, who'd been on the 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:51.559 job for nearly four decades. He dabs it a couple 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:54.920 of times and looks at it and tells, machine, you 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:57.240 may want to get that glove out of the garbage 0:08:57.320 --> 0:08:59.240 can and see what the rest of the finger is. 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:02.400 Looks like glove. It was just like, oh, y'all looking 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:04.760 forward his finger, just check the trash. I think it's 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:08.120 in his glove. Yeah, A guy who thought he'd seen 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:12.040 it all was dumpster diving in the visiting locker room. 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:14.440 And the glove is still intact, you know, it's normal, 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:16.560 and like, let's just cut on up the finger and see. 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:20.280 And they cut up the finger and it just falls 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:22.720 right there on the table. It's just a small piece 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:25.400 of bone and a little bit of nail and a 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.120 little bit of skin. Nothing that they can put back 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:32.720 together again. So essentially he was missing from the bottom 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:35.520 part of his nail. The rest of his finger was gone. 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.000 From there, we hopping an ambulance and you know, begin 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.240 to go to the hospital and have immediate surgery. Take 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:44.840 them over to the hospital, shave it back the little 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:46.640 nub of bone that was there, so that there was 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:49.480 enough skin left to make a flap and fold it 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.920 up and sew it at like a flap, kind of 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:54.679 like you're closing the end of a bag, and I 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:56.800 could begin to watch the rest of the game from 0:09:56.840 --> 0:10:01.439 the surgical room there in New Orleans Hospital. They put 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.559 enough medicine and numbed it enough for Rashad to be 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.400 able to film the whole procedure. That's right. Instead of 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:14.000 studying film, Rashad Johnson was filming his own surgery. Just 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.559 another Sunday on the job. And maybe it was the 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:22.679 painkiller talking, but Rashad was already talking about the next Sunday, 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:24.719 what's the next step? Like? Am I gonna be able 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:26.959 to play next week? You know? Am I gonna be 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:28.839 able to get a manicure again? Like? You know, those 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:32.160 are serious of questions that we got to talk about. Yeah, 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:34.680 Rashad Johnson there, and I still don't know what's harder 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:37.760 to believe that it actually happened, that injury or his 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:42.160 good natured reaction. Hence the title of this Cardinals Folktale 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:45.559 nine more, because look, only one other player really in 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:48.760 NFL history can relate. His name is Ronnie Lott and 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:52.360 that is next. As we continue with this special edition 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.480 of The Big Red Rage presented by Santan Ford in 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:59.480 Gilbert and welcome back everyone into this special edition of 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:02.920 The Big Red Rage, presented by Santanford and Gilbert On 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.680 Paul Calvic. And when we talk about former Cardinals safety 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:08.520 Rashad Johnson, if you're talking about a former walk on 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.360 running back at Alabama who ended up a two time 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:15.120 team captain as a safety, an eight year NFL player 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:18.959 who had sixteen picks and one lost fingertip. And that's 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:22.240 where we pick it up, right after surgery following his 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:26.400 twenty thirteen game in New Orleans Cardinals Folk Tales nine. 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:33.200 More So, here's the postop report in emergency surgery at 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:37.000 the hospital. The hand specialist shaved down the bone to 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:41.520 prevent infection and stitch up the wound. There were no 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:45.120 plans to reattach the fingertip, and in a nod to 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:49.680 modern medicine, Rashad was already back at this stadium before 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:52.600 the end of the game. Now here's Darren Urban from 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.840 ac Cardinals dot Com and Cardinals cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross, 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:59.560 who both at the time, like most everyone, we're still unaware. 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:02.520 To be honest, I didn't know about that until after 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:05.280 the game was over. You know, we knew he had 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:08.280 left the game, so that was part of it, but 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:12.640 we didn't really understand the gravity of the situation, which 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:15.200 probably would have made me a little queasy anyways, because 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:17.680 I mean, that's gross. Man. You think about your finger 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:21.680 getting sniped right now, that's painful. I mean that hurts. 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:23.480 I mean, you get your finger caught in a door 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:27.480 or something, it hurts. So I can't even imagine. That's gruesome. 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.600 Hearing about people climbing through a garbage can to get 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:33.800 a fingertip out of a glove and all that even 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.400 now kind of giving me the Willie clipped off and 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.040 did Ronnie Lott thing. It's like the Ronnie Lotton effect. 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:43.240 Ronnie Lott forty nine ers Hall of Fame defensive back 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:48.000 known for hard hits, picks and is pinky or what's 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.720 left of it because in nineteen eighty five eighty six, 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:55.720 Lot declined bone graph surgery to fully repair his left 0:12:55.800 --> 0:13:00.120 pinky finger. Instead, a Lot famously told team doctors to 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:03.760 take the top of his injured finger off so he 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:07.319 wouldn't miss any time. Let's just say, Rashard Johnson is 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:10.240 in a very exclusive claw. You know, getting a call 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:13.000 from running Lot, you know, got an opportunity to get 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:16.520 on the call with him and just getting some insight, 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.559 and a lot of people wouldn't understand us wanting to 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.760 go back after such a maybe traumatic injury or having 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.760 something so vastly you know, happened to your life and 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:27.959 him losing you know, his finger. People wanted like, why 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:30.200 are you trying to go back and play? But there's 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:32.199 something that we love to do, and then we love 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:35.360 to compete, and you know, you battle through adversity to 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:37.439 do what you love. Some of the things that he 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.439 told me, man, So I just really valued that experience, 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:42.839 you know, through it all. I think this was Rashad's 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:45.559 way of saying, like I got stripes now, you know, 0:13:45.720 --> 0:13:48.040 nobody can say like I've been through it all, like 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:50.480 like I've gave part of my finger to the game, 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.040 almost like a sacrifice. I think he helped our mental 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:55.040 toughness out back in the back and big time. I 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:58.400 think he helped a whole defense period showing that kind 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.959 of cap doing toughness. I mean definitely ended up being 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:02.920 something that you know, people could say it was supposed 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:04.840 to set you back, but for me, I always kind 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:06.160 of find a way to say, you know, it can 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:08.360 either be fuel or it can be wait and you 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:10.400 decide for me. You know, it's I always fuel to 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:14.120 the fire to keep going, and Rashad definitely kept going, 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:17.760 missing only two games, and then in his third game back, 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:21.240 he had two picks. Cardinals dial up up lets back 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:25.240 to pass, Ryan fires deep nearside, easy interception at the 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:28.280 twelve yard line. For Rashaw Johnson. Back to pass goes, 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.800 Ryan fires it up into the air nearside, gonna be 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:37.880 an easy interception at the twenty five yard line. It's Johnson. Now. 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:40.560 Keep in mind then in college, Rashaw Johnson was a 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:44.120 walk on at Alabama, a walk on running back from 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:47.480 a tiny one A high school in state, a zero 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:52.000 star recruit who ended up first team All SEC as 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:55.000 a safety for Nick Saban and one of the only 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:58.720 two time team captains in Bama history. You know, I 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.240 knew how quickly the tables could turn and how much 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:04.920 it meant to, you know, continue to push forward, to 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:08.720 have that fighter mentality. So that's something that I've always had, 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:11.040 and I think it rubbed off from that group to 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:14.320 continue to push forward and continue to fight for each other. 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.240 And as much as teammates look out for each other, 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:20.320 right push to each other they bag on each other 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.640 as well. And let's just say that Rashad had to 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:27.320 play defense in his own mocker room. I remember Gerrarde 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:29.920 was always just saying, like, man, that tip is gonna 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:33.040 cost you an interception. And I was like, man, like, 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:35.000 don't play like. We don't need to say those type 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:39.320 of things. And Gerarde tipped the ball and it came 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:41.400 over the top and I had it right in my 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:44.480 fingers and it went right off that finger till better 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:46.560 for Sean Johnson had ten fingers instead of nine and 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:48.120 a half, he might have picked that one off. I 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:49.680 never forgive me. Come in the locker room. He was 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.160 like that day finger, I told you looking in that 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.080 day finger, you know how Girde is. He's like, I 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:57.200 had that pvure you supposed to make that play. So 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:00.200 that was the one man. If anybody gave me heck 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:04.200 about it, it was definitely JP. And these nine more 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:09.080 stories they still resonate, Like in twenty twenty when Cardinals 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:12.760 All Pro safety Buddha Baker's snaged his first career pick 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:16.360 with a cast on his hand. Here's the Cardinals radio team, 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:19.600 Dave Pash and Ron Wolflett. He's not the first Cardinal 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:22.840 ever to play with nine fingers. Yes, Rashad Johnson did that. 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:28.680 Of course, Rashads fell off Buddha's His back intact is 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:33.680 this is the most graphic injury report ever. I'm a 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.080 truth teller, Wolf. I mean, it's it's not like it's 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.240 a story that people aren't aware of. Rashad is still 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:44.000 doing just fine. I think, looking back on it now, 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.480 we didn't realize how big of a story it was. 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:48.720 Sean Johnson, He's probably saying, I had to lose the 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:51.720 tip of my finger to get on the Dan Patrick Show. Hey, 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:54.200 but that's how you do it up. In those next 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:57.640 few days, Rashad went on not only would Dan Patrick, 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:01.160 but Sports Center, the Jim Roll Show. Rashad was the 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:05.240 subject of a full feature on Sunday NFL Countdown. But 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:08.840 Rashad himself was the one who tweeted out three gruesome 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:12.960 images of his forlorn finger. So leave it to Cardinal's 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:16.320 marketing whiz Orlando Abola to come up with an idea 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.480 that he ran up the flag Bowl with Darren Urban 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:22.160 of az Cardinals dot Com. I remember getting a text 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:25.480 from Orlando saying, you know, kind of playing off of it, 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:30.280 and he sent the little screenshot of this, you know, 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:34.520 foam finger that was missing a tip obviously, just like 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:37.639 Rashod and I thought it was hilarious. I thought it 0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.560 was Orlando kind of being Orlando. But then we started 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:42.760 talking about it a little bit and like, you know, 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:44.920 do you think we can put that out there without 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.680 essentially offending anybody, including Rashot and Jim and Mohundro was 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.280 running the social media at the time. You know, we 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:54.840 went back and forth for about five minutes, and we 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:57.040 decided to hey, let's send a text or a shot 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:59.920 and see what he thinks. So Darren fires off a text. 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:02.639 In less than a minute. Rashotte gets back and says, oh, 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:04.560 this is great. I love it. Leah, yeah, do it? 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:07.320 Do it? Do it? So we put that out and 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.000 you know, all of a sudden, the retweets start racking up, 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:14.040 and you know, we went viral, not just on social media. 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:17.320 What I really remember most of all is later that day, 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:20.520 being in the hotel room, the two of us, and 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:23.119 we had ESPN Sports Center on, and then all of 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:26.080 a sudden having that tweet show up on Sports Center 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:28.560 and we're thinking, okay, this has really hit the big 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.440 time that you have this tweet out there of making 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:35.600 fun of what probably wasn't something you shouldn't be making 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:37.200 fun of, to be honest, you know, it was a 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:39.879 lot of a lot of talk afterwards, um, you know, 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:44.960 from the burn part of the interruption to Sports Center, 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:47.280 you know, talking to it on sunt before you know, 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:49.639 the Sunday night game. We knew it was a big 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:52.040 story because I was like, the guy made T shirts 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:55.240 that saying that he got nine more fingers. The question 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:56.960 was asked like, hey man, you know you lost a 0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:59.520 portion of your finger. You lost a finger. You know, like, 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:02.680 what are you gonna do? I got nine more? And 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:05.200 everybody warred under their shoulder path for the rest of 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:07.640 the year and all of that nine more as a mindset, 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:09.920 you know, like do I focus on the one I do? 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:12.640 I focus on what I have? So I think it's 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.800 just a shift in life. It's what I do, you know, 0:19:16.040 --> 0:19:18.720 on a daily basis, It's what's gotten me through the 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:21.680 transition post my career. It's like, do you focus on 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:24.520 not playing football out no more? Or on the beauty 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:26.720 of your wife and the beautiful girls that you have. 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:32.119 So on one hand, Rashad's missing finger was the most 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:36.040 click story on ESPN dot com. On the other hand, 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:41.440 Rashad's young daughter saw it differently as simply her daddy's identity. 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:44.920 Something that looked like an imperfection to me became a 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:48.560 soother to her because at nighttime, when she wanted to 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:50.560 lay down, she would want to hold my hand, but 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:52.520 she would want to grab this finger. She didn't want 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:54.960 any other finger but that finger, and she would hold 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:56.639 it and like lay there and hold it until she 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:59.800 went to sleep. And it was just just the greatest 0:19:59.840 --> 0:20:01.480 thing to me, because, like I said, like it looked 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:03.720 like an imperfection, look like something you know, it was 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:06.879 taken from me, but it's an actual comforter to her, 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:08.840 and so it was just it was so much beauty 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:12.400 in that for me. See, it's not all downside. In fact, 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:16.400 Rashad also finds beauty in the nine and a half 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:19.840 finger discount the perks. I think the biggest one was 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:21.920 the ten percent off on the manicures. I kind of, 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:24.360 you know, I used that every time I go into 0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:26.520 the salon and I'm in there and the ladies like, 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:28.280 what are you talking about? You know, they kind of asking, 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:31.160 I'm like, look, I'm missing a finger. So ten percent 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:33.960 off are we can't the price isn't good. So that's 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:35.359 kind of one of the things I use all the 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:41.639 time when I go to do something like that. Post 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:45.280 my injury, I actually had more productions, you know, as 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:48.919 an interceptor fact. In his eight year NFL career, Rashaw 0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:54.200 Johnson had sixteen interceptions including playoffs, three before the injury 0:20:54.400 --> 0:20:59.200 and thirteen after. And Gerard Powers has a theory maybe 0:20:59.320 --> 0:21:01.840 that him losing a part of that finger gave him 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:05.040 some type of advantage and catching the ball, because I 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:07.040 don't remember him being that good of a catcher when 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:10.160 all ten of his fingers were intact. Speaking of memories, 0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:14.359 how often is Rashad Johnson reminded of the injury? He 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:17.280 definitely comes up a lot since you know, post career, 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:19.879 there's very few guys that have played the game and 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:23.959 actually lost a portion, you know, of their finger myself 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:25.520 and running lot er two that I can think of. 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:27.560 I'm telling you, Rashad, I thought it was like a 0:21:27.640 --> 0:21:30.159 war story, how he was explaining it to everybody like 0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:32.840 he had just you know, we'll probably keep adding stuff 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:35.240 to it as the years ago. Like at some point, 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:38.119