Qadry Ismail | Former NFL WR & Super Bowl Champion

We are pleased to welcome back to the show for the first time in a long time former NFL wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Kadri Ismael who joins us from Baltimore and is part of the pre and post game show for Ravens Games on WJZ-TV. We've been hearing from Dorian Glenn, DeMar's uncle, we've heard from members of the NFL fraternity both players as well as coaches even Jerry Jones a little bit later on. Really this has become the singular focus for the league and its fan bases around the country and around North America. Q, it's pretty incredible the outpouring of support that DeMar's family is receiving. It's so humbling to me the way in which the fan base has reacted and just like you said the outpouring of love to DeMar and his family. I'm looking at it on the outside looking in and yet at the same time the brotherhood of the NFL and just what you know has gone on and what it takes to play and at the same time just know that there's a connection with your your fans and your fan base that you know lives on.

I mean these the people that watch the game they they they're in it with you and their memories last just as long as yours and at the same time for them to uh to show their support the way they have and and last I guess I checked as far as his organization and the donations that were made was close to five million or over five million um was just remarkable. When you saw him fall backward after making the tackle on Monday night and then the way that his teammates reacted as well as the Bengals what were your emotions seeing that play out? Initially my reaction was oh boy you know there'll be some help and and he'll be okay. Then as it became more and more um evident that it wasn't just a normal uh situation of an injury that's when you know you you just for me I've seen a lot when it comes to injuries but I just have never seen anything like that and I know for the guys that were on the field that were you know just literally right there and watching it all in full to to see a person have to be revived and brought back to life I mean that's just something that you just you just don't want to imagine and couldn't imagine and I couldn't you know see any other way other than what the NFL did which says an awful lot when you talk about a league that will play through a pandemic but yet recognizes that this was something where they had to to stop play and and and call the game. I think for me the indication that this was different as you say that this was more serious more critical a life or death situation was seeing the reaction of the men who were on the field the players who were either crying or were walking up and down the sidelines praying out loud uh the then forming a ring around Damar as the medical team is working on him. I know you went through some serious injuries in your own career obviously playing as long as you did you saw other people suffer various injuries was there ever a situation where you were on the field and a game had to be stopped like this where it was serious and and it was hard to refocus or even think about football? Not that I can recall I mean I've seen it where you know we've heck I've been targeted off the field um I know I've sustained a mega hit to the chest uh and ironically enough against the Buffalo Bills and it was arguably one of the hardest hits I've ever taken if not the hardest hit that I've ever taken in my life it was up at Ralph Wilson Stadium and my my goodness I thought you know my entire body was just you know done like my whole chest everything was was just oh it was it was crazy but I actually went back into the locker room they examined me and went back out there on the field which is kind of crazy knowing what I know nowadays but um yeah just overall literally today thinking of all the times where guys have you know gotten hit and you see them you know cart off the field and there's always that thumbs up um where you kind of like all right you know and or you get some sort of update that is like oh man I'm glad that guy is okay but this time you know it's if you're right there on the field and and he has you know the first responders giving him CPR to revive him and that's a whole different ball game that is one to really you know it's tough to wrap your brain around. I mean that's the type of thing you see on a tv show or in a movie but I can't imagine watching it happen right in front of you and again the reaction of his teammates was so different even then when guys have to deal with a stoppage of play for a head injury or you know something that we have seen multiple times even this year we have cadre ismael with us here he's the super bowl champion with the ravens also part of purple pregame and post game on wjz tv in baltimore it's good to have him on after hours here on cbs sports radio so cadre when you think about this idea of now just try to get back to football you know the nfl has for now at least tabled the game between the bangles and the bills and the bills of course uh we're back in western new york how do you in a locker room turn your brain back to football and getting out there and and going through all of the motions of of what can be such a violent game well i i don't know i do know that it's interesting we uh whether you're a former player or a player you know when you get injured in practice say if you're on the 40-yard line they literally will turn around and go the opposite way and keep on practicing you know as much as you get you know guys injured and knocked down they will literally be carting them off the field guys kind of elect their thoughts kind of do what they do and off you go back to playing um this one is is definitely different um for sure but i i think that in in guys minds you know you you want to play uh because that's in your dna it's it's wired to to operate that way um but i do also recognize there's gonna be some guys that are gonna have a little bit of of doubt and struggle to uh you know kind of figure these things out and and i hope that from a a club each club aspect perspective of things that you know there's a person that they would have on staff to offer some sort of um grief counseling so they can can clear their minds and and go out there to yeah do the game that you love that you recognize there is an inherent risk this is a a collision sport we just saw arguably in in in my lifetime that i've been watching nfl and playing uh the game as well this is arguably the worst you know injury that i've ever come across in in in my time so at the same time i'm hoping guys can yeah express themselves and mentally be able to to do what it takes and and go out there and play again it's a great point that you make though that the nfl played through a worldwide pandemic and didn't miss a single game in 2020 somehow somehow managed to figure it out and really made it clear to the league to the players to the nflpa that we're going forward with this now you can choose to sit out but we're moving ahead um and yet in this particular case the entire league has come to a halt so we'll see how they move forward and we do still have so much on the line coming up and the bangles are supposed to be facing the ravens in week 18 it doesn't just affect the two teams that were there but it affects other guys who recognize it could also be them and they could be in that same situation that's the tough part about it i mean it's it's the league trying to wrestle with how to to continue on i know that there is is a time for off season uh thought of contracts there's a time for making the team there's a time for actually being on the team and earning certain amount of dollars through your contract and incentives or whatever have you and then there's also time for yeah getting out there and especially if you're on that good team and you're still playing there's a time for you trying to chase a legacy which is playoffs and how does that unfold into a potential world championship i mean that's the business that you're in and i think there's going to be a lot of wrestling with it as far as the players but i do know the the league will it will the the train will leave the station yet again um this is the most rarest of moments that we've we've witnessed where the train actually stopped uh mid-route to to collect itself because of the the tragic uh situation that that unfolded with uh damar that's a great point cadre ismael is with us from baltimore super bowl champion himself a former nfl wide receiver now an analyst it's after hours here on cbs sports radio just to update people the family of damar is indicating that he has shown some improvement he is making progress but tonight and the the few hours that will come on uh wednesday morning are really critical so cadre to think about the ravens they themselves are dealing with completely different type of injury concern to their quarterback lamar and obviously right now they've clinched a playoff spot and yet they're not playing their best football i think there's some concern what are you seeing with the team over the last few weeks we can say even with lamar uh under center that there have been the rumblings and and the frustrations of the fan base watching a team that has been just flat out inconsistent uh the entire year they've shown some excuse me they've shown some great signs of being that upper tier elite afc team but the the the achilles has somehow been the lack of the defense to close out a game that four minute defense if you will and also the offense when it needs to to score and to put itself in position to win um to leave no doubt they they've really struggled the red zone has just been an ongoing issue for this this ball club and when it comes to you know coaches on the the proverbial hot seat greg roman the offensive coordinator i mean that that name has you know you say that name around baltimore everyone's going to be like oh yep nah we got to fire that guy oh man hurry do you agree with that or disagree with that cadre i i never would have said this before but um i i'm i lean towards agreeing with i think you know his his his time has come i don't see i just don't see the the offense grooving as it did when uh he and lamar first took on this journey in in 2018 the way in which lamar had that incredible season 2019 but you know 20 was good it wasn't quite as good 21 kind of started seeing some of the the big chinks in the armor and i thought this year with some guys coming back healthy that they would you know kind of return back to form but we haven't seen it and so i think uh yes his time is running its course interesting i know this is not fair i'm just going to readily say that but before i let you go if you are in the ravens front office or you're part of this decision making about lamar what do you do because the time is nearly upon the ravens from a contract standpoint and payment standpoint um you know they they can franchise tag them so i think from their aspect of things they'll probably um well they've been better franchise i mean he he has his you know number in mind and and and his camp they've you know held close together as far as like not having anything to leak out obviously the ravens are respected at that as well so we don't truly know we're all are on the outside but if i were yes on the inside i'd be like all right as much as we franchise tagging them we definitely have to to come to bat and i think uh recognize that you know he's an extremely specially talented individual and without him we clearly see that this team isn't as good as it needs to be good point there uh so the ravens can deal with that when they get to the off season but for now i still have games ahead of them so i didn't even realize that cadre had a new twitter account i this would explain why i haven't seen your tweets lately but i see it now i am cadre ismael q a d r y i s m a i l so now i have followed your new account you can also catch him on the purple pregame show the postgame show on wjz tv and just because i think it's super cool i like to tell everyone he is a super bowl champion cadre it's good to catch up with you thank you for your insight i appreciate it always amy anytime thank you