Inspirational Motivational of the Day

In the coolest move a pro sports team will make this week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed as a free agent former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed from the neck down in 2010 while playing for Rutgers. Bucs coach Greg Schiano was the coach at Rutgers when LeGrand was injured:

"Leading up to the draft, I couldn't help but think that this should've been Eric's draft class. This small gesture is the least we could do to recognize his character, spirit, and perseverance. The way Eric lives his life epitomizes what we are looking for in Buccaneer Men."

LeGrand's doctors feared he would spend his life a quadriplegic and on a ventilator, but he is killing it in physical therapy. He tweeted a picture of his progress last summer: "Standing up little by little in therapy," he wrote.

LeGrand returned to the football field on October 29, 2011, one year after his injury, leading the Rutgers team out onto the field at Rutgers' stadium. The occasion was voted the magazine's Moment of the Year and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated's 2011 year-end issue.

LeGrand's latest tweet is a pic of a Buccaneers helmet, accompanied by: "We ready!!!"

[starledger]