TEMPE, Ariz. -- After six operations and 70 days in a Flagstaff hospital, Ernest Dye made a surprise appearance at the Arizona Cardinals' headquarters Wednesday and talked about his recovery from the car accident that crushed his right arm and ended his football career.

He immediately displayed the sense of humor that has so impressed those around him.

"I asked them yesterday how much it would cost to get a bionic hand to fit in here," he said. "It would save me some time and trouble. I don't know if insurance would cover that, though."

Dye said he feels lucky to be alive.

"It's most definitely put a change over me," he said. "I got a lot closer with my kids. I realize how much my family means to me. It happened so quick. It's like we could leave here and be driving down the street and `boom' it would be all over with. That's pretty much the way this was."

The big offensive tackle and two of his teammates, Lester Holmes and Carl Simpson, were traveling back to training camp in Flagstaff Aug. 16 when their car went off rain-slickened Interstate 17 and overturned several times.

Holmes and Simpson weren't seriously injured, but the 335-pound Dye was thrown through the windshield and his right arm was crushed to the point that doctors feared it would have to be amputated.

"When the accident happened, I was asleep and I think Carl was asleep, too," Dye said. "When we opened our eyes, we were sliding. We didn't know what was happening. Before I knew it, we had spinned around backwards and I guess we started flipping from there. When I woke up, I was outside the car lying face-down."

He said doctors later indicated that those moments at the accident scene nearly cost him his life.

"They got real scared and I got scared, too. I ain't going to tell you no lie," Dye said. "They said the worst part in the whole accident was lying out there waiting for the ambulance to come because a lot of infection went through my body. My white blood cell count got real low, and I came real close to dying at that point."

A 1993 first-round draft pick out of South Carolina, Dye plans to attend Sunday's game between the Cardinals and New England Patriots. He has come to terms with the fact that his playing career is over.

"I sat out last season, but I had the intentions of coming back," he said. "Now I haven't got any intention of coming back, so it's kind of like a permanent state. This is where I'm going to be at with the NFL -- I'm going to watch, unless I decide to try to get into coaching or something. I ain't sad about it or nothing like that, but that's pretty much the disposition now. I've got to get used to it."

He must get up early each day to go to a clinic to have the dressing changed on his arm. Later, there will be physical rehabilitation. So far, he hasn't regained much feeling in the arm.

"I can't even really explain it," he said. "Sometimes it feels like I can feel something, sometimes it doesn't. It's kind of in between right now. One time I thought I was feeling hot and cold, and if you poke it, I can feel that a little bit. But the blood's been circulating and the scar's been healing on my hand, so that's good. It's still warm. It ain't cold."

Dye was released from the hospital on Monday. He's back in his Phoenix home with his wife, Rhonda, daughter Ariel, 4, and son Ernest Jr., 2. He plans to catch up on the movies he's missed, starting with a trip to see "The Best Man" on Wednesday night.

Other than that, his future plans are uncertain.

"I've got a million things going through my head," he said. "I've got a music studio -- a production studio -- and I've got some new talent that I really haven't put out there yet. I'm so close to Hollywood, I think I might get into acting. There's a whole bunch of stuff going through my head.

"I don't care, man. I've got one life to live, and I realize that now, and I'll try anything."