Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards missed last week’s game with an elbow injury, but was able to practice every day this week, thanks in part to braces on both of his arms.
When asked Friday how Edwards’ practices went this week while wearing the braces, head coach Todd Bowles dated himself with a pop culture reference that required some explanation for the 26-year-old defensive back.
“He kind of looked like the Bionic Man,” Bowles said Friday. “It’s a little past his time with Steve Austin. I had to explain that to him.”
Steve Austin was the main character in the 1970s television show “The Six Million Dollar Man,” a pilot who was given bionic limbs and incredible abilities after suffering a severe accident.
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The name likely rings a different bell for those closer to Edwards’ generation who grew up with WWE. But even that one might have required some background information, considering Edwards was just seven years old when “Stone Cold” retired from professional wrestling.
Bowles said Edwards is “on track” to play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
USA TODAY Sports+ producer Victoria Hernandez contributed to this story.