Te’o realizes challenges to make it to playoffs

Time and tribulation have taught Manti Te’o to fully appreciate where he finds himself today.

The starting middle linebacker for New Orleans has taken the long and, at times, painful way back to the NFL postseason, where he and the Saints play the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Wild Card round in the SuperDome.

“I’m excited, I’m excited,” Te’o told reporters this week, his smile seconding the motion.

Four years ago as a rookie with the San Diego Chargers there was also the excitement of the playoffs but little of the appreciation for the depth of the achievement.

“We were just talking about that (before the press conference),” Te’o said, relating a tale of the advice given by some of the veterans on the Chargers — Dwight Freeney, Antonio Gates and Eric Weddle.

“You are talking to a young kid,” Te’o said. “It was my first year in the league and I make it to the playoffs. There are guys telling me, ‘Hey, man, you have to really treasure these moments and take advantage of them. They don’t come around as often as you like,’ ” Te’o recalled for reporters.

“I was sitting there as a 22-year old kid. I was a rookie who had just made it and (was wondering) what the big deal is.”

Te’o, a second-round draft pick out of Notre Dame, where he had been the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Johnny Manziel in 2012, was sure such experiences would be regular and plentiful.

But, like his career, things got sidetracked. The Chargers, with whom he spent four seasons, did not make it back in his stay, a tenure marred by injuries that forced him to miss 26 games after not sitting out a game in his four years with the Fighting Irish.

When he was able to make it on the field for the Chargers, Te’o was a starter and defensive co-captain. But injuries to both feet, an ankle and his Achilles interrupted a promising career. The 2016 campaign that was to have been a springboard to his “money” year as a free agent was over after it had barely started, the Achilles rupture in the third game forcing him to miss the next 13.

When the Chargers chose not to bring him back for the move to Los Angeles, Te’o accepted what was, essentially, a show-us-what you’ve- still-got deal with the Saints. While it was labeled a two-year $7 million contract, it was heavily incentive based with up-front money a fraction of the deal.

Moreover, Te’o would be competing with several other free agents and returning players for playing time, which, at the beginning of the season, wasn’t always that much since he often came out in passing situations.

But his preparation was painstaking, his leadership undeniable and his play steady. When injuries to other linebackers bought Te’o more opportunities, he’s made the most of them. Te’o is fourth on the team in tackles (62), including eight for loss, the most on the Saints, and has taken on some of the responsibilities of relaying the defensive signals.

Some of his biggest moments came in last month’s victory over Atlanta, where he contributed two key tackles for loss and then led a goal-line stand where he recovered a fumble.

And not lost along the way was that he had played a full 16-game regular season for the first time in his career.

Entering these playoffs, Te’o says, “I definitely know what a privilege it is (to be here).”

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.