Former Dolphins FB Describes Grueling, 9-Mile Swim After Boating Accident

"I shouldn't be here."

This is how Rob Konrad assesses the fight of his life—a boating accident that left him alone and drifting nine miles off the Florida coast Thursday.

Three days after reaching the shore in West Palm Beach, Florida, the former Miami Dolphins fullback addressed the media about his terrifying ordeal at sea.

The Sun-Sentinel's Dave Hyde brings us the details of Konrad's story, which the former fullback relayed in an emotional press conference Monday morning. Konrad, 38, said he was alone fishing the waters between Lighthouse Point and Riviera Beach when a large wave sent him over the side of his boat.

"At that point in time, after panicking, I realized I was in real trouble," Konrad said. "I was miles out, the boat was on autopilot heading east to the Bahamas, I didn't have time to get out an SOS call. I knew I was in trouble."

With no other ships in sight, Konrad began swimming west hoping to find other boaters. He said that over the course of his 16-hour swim, he was nearly rescued on two occasions:

"

At one point, as I swam into the night, there was a fishing boat, a recreational fishing boat, about 50 yards away. I tried to flag down the boat. It didn't work out. A little bit later on, I saw the Coast Guard [helicopter]. They were out, searching the water. At that point in time, [it] came right over the top of me. They had lights on me, but kept going. That was a difficult time. I realized at that point I was on my own.

"

NFL.com's Jeff Darlington tweeted further details from Konrad's press conference, including his encounters with jellyfish and a circling shark.

Konrad said his two young daughters kept him going through the worst of his experience.

As for his boat, Darlington reports the vessel was found near an ironically named reef in the Bahamas.

Konrad reached shore in West Palm Beach early Friday morning—an estimated 27 nautical miles from where he fell into the water. Darlington reports that Konrad spent the next three days in the hospital recovering from hypothermia, dehydration and rhabdomyolysis (the breakdown of muscle fibers).

"It was beyond terrifying," said Konrad’s wife Tammy, who helped her still-recovering husband climb the dais at Monday's presser.

"I'm grateful and thankful to be here," Konrad said. 

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