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Philadelphia Eagles right guard Brandon Brooks said a feeling of peace came over him this offseason during rehab. He is attempting to come back from his second major Achilles tear in three years and doesn’t have any doubt about returning stronger.
Brooks fully expects to reclaim his spot as the best offensive lineman in football. Period. Mind over matter, even with his 32nd birthday (Aug. 19) on the horizon.
“I think the biggest thing that everybody is forgetting is I tore my Achilles before and when I came back I was the best. Period,” Brook told reporters on Thursday. “So with that being said, what tells you it will be any different this time?
“And that’s exactly how I feel. I guess there could be a debate, like prove if you can be healthy, prove if you can make it through 17 games now, things like that. But as far as proving yourself, what haven’t we done? That’s the question. What haven’t we done?”
The three-time Pro Bowler — and the NFL’s best offensive lineman in 2019, via Pro Football Focus — got brutally honest about his past and future after Eagles OTAs. Brooks has seen the “highest of highs” (read: Super Bowl champion) and “the lowest of lows” (see: left Achilles, right Achilles, dislocated shoulder) during his brilliant eight-year career. And he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
“Each year I’ve only gotten better, even after the injury, I got better,” Brooks said. “As long as I decide to play, I think I can maintain this level if not better. And that’s always been my motto. I’m never satisfied with people calling me good, with people calling me great — as much as I’ve accomplished, it’s the bad games that I’ve played, it’s the bad plays that I’ve had, that stand out to me way more than any success to me.”
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Brooks Confirms Trade Rumors Were True
Brooks mentioned that last year’s injury had changed his perspective as he started to “see things in a different light.” But the 346-pounder wasn’t blind to the fact that the Eagles tried to trade him back in March as a way to clear salary-cap space. No teams came up in those reported discussions but Brooks heard the rumors. He believes they were 100% true and accurate.
“Well, it was true. I think you know, let’s just get that out there,” Brooks said. “I believe, I don’t want to say that all rumors are true because that’s not the case, but if it’s enough people saying it, it has to be something … something’s happening, right? This is a business, man. It’s something you can’t lose sight of, this is a business.”
Brooks wasn’t hurt by the decision and it isn’t harboring any ill will toward the front office. He knows the why: Brooks is older, with a scary injury history, plus the Eagles had been in salary-cap hell. However, Brooks did have one minor gripe about the way it all went down, maybe more of a request.
“It didn’t hurt my feelings,” Brooks said. “The only thing I wish about that actually was, instead of hearing it from my mom, like my mom being like ‘where we going?’ It would be nice to get a phone call like ‘Hey, this is what’s going on.’ Other than that, it’s a business, man. I never lose sight of that.”
Ready to Play Had Eagles Made Playoffs
One other interesting tidbit revealed by Brooks was that he had been fully cleared to play if the Eagles had qualified for the playoffs. He returned to the practice field on Dec. 31, just six-and-a-half months after tearing his left Achilles tendon running sprints prior to 2020 training camp. The Eagles kept him off injured reserve last year with the intention that he could suit up. Now we know he was ready to go.
“If we got to the playoffs, I would have played in the playoffs,” Brooks said. “So when I got cleared in December, I was cleared cleared, like good to go.”
Brooks credited his first leg surgery — he tore his right Achilles tendon in 2018 — for preparing him mentally to embrace the grind and persevere. His 2019 season was one for the record books.
“So the first one really helped me with the second one because there was never really a doubt in my mind if I could come back,” Brooks said. “Because I’ve done it and when I came back, I was the best in the league.”
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