FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Billy Bowman Jr. has never been the type to take a day off. It's not out of a mindset of being a martyr. It's simply because, well, he loves the game. He didn't want to take even a day away from it.

And that's how he lived his life. That is, up until November of last year, when, during a walk-through, he ruptured his Achilles in a moment that felt as random as it was unexpected.

As his rookie season ended and his rehab loomed, Bowman saw only days off ahead of him. As someone who had never really experienced an injury of this severity before, Bowman said the early days were as foreign as they were difficult.

"Going from being a pro athlete to now I can't even get up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom without using a scooter, or being in the shower and I have to sit on the ground," Bowman said of the first few weeks post-surgery. "Those things, and never being injured before, it brought me back to ground zero. Honestly, I didn't even know if I would make it to this point where I am back practicing, and here I am."

Bowman returned to practice just last week, after the Falcons felt he had progressed far enough in his rehab that he wouldn't have to start the season on injured reserve. He started out in individual drills, and he'll be ramped up this week.

"I am still getting there," Bowman said after practice Wednesday. "Still have to build some confidence out there."

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said the defensive back isn't far off from getting to that point.

"He is somebody who I have gotten to witness, firsthand, how hard he has worked at this," Stefanski said. "And I am really excited for Billy to be back practicing. ... He's feeling really good. He's getting close, and we will continue to bring him along this week and see where we can get to. That's one where we need to monitor and see how he feels at practice, how he recovers from those practices, but he's doing really, really well."

All training camp long, Bowman was never too far from the action. He was always on the sideline, watching, waiting and running around when he could.

It was important, Bowman agreed, that he stayed locked in mentally even if he wasn't cleared physically.

"I was always just following my position, always backing up behind the nickel, knowing the play call, seeing the play, noting the motion, whatever it was," Bowman explained. "But also, the conversations that I have had with (Jeff) Ulbrich. Taking this time to learn the defense as a whole. Taking this time to learn safety if needed."

And as he nears the time when he'll be able to really get back on the field once more in a full-game capacity, Bowman is able to reflect on some of the joys he did find in those days when football wasn't possible.

"I kind of look at this injury as giving me a step back from all my hard work, all the things that I have done. Knowing life is more than just football," Bowman said. "Going on vacation, seeing different things, trying different foods, things like that."

Still, he longed for his love. Something he's now so close to getting back, fully and completely.

"Being back now," Bowman concluded, "I realize I've missed it so much."