Quincy Enunwa isn’t ready to throw in the towel on his NFL career just yet.
With his 2020 season over before it started thanks to his injury-plagued neck, Enunwa’s future in the NFL is on life support. Whether he plays again or not is up to doctors at this point.
The Jets ended Enunwa’s 2019 season when they placed him on the Physically Unable to Perform list back on May 5. In December 2018, Enunwa signed a four-year, $36 million contract extension through the 2022 season, but he played just one game on his new deal before suffering a season-ending neck injury in the season opener.
His career in limbo, but Enunwa isn’t ready to give up on football just yet.
“If I’m capable of playing, then that’s what I’ll do,” Enunwa told ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “If it comes down to the fact that the doctors say I can’t, there’s not much I can do. There’s really nothing I can do there, but if I have the ability to [play], the passion will always be there, the want-to will always be there.”
While Enunwa attempts to make an improbable recovery, he believes his physical ability is still there. That’s with the revelation that Enunwa was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, the same debilitating back condition that ultimately ended the career of New York Mets third baseman David Wright. Still, Enunwa showed flashes of brilliance before and after his first neck injury, molding himself as a hybrid wide receiver who was a matchup nightmare for opposing defensive backs. The cards have been stacked against Enunwa since his first neck injury, which he suffered in 2017.
“There’s really no one to blame,” Enunwa said. “It’s one of those things. If I could’ve had a crystal ball and told myself … this was going to happen, I probably would’ve done it the same way. There’s nothing really I regret or I’m upset with anybody about.
“I think everybody tried to handle it the best way that we could. There’s no way to have prevented this other than not play football, and I don’t know if I would’ve been as happy if I made that choice.”
Right now, it doesn’t pay for Enunwa to retire. Despite being placed on the PUP list, he will earn $6 million fully guaranteed for the 2020 season, per Cimini. As part of his contract, Enunwa has an injury guarantee of $4.1 million in 2021.