Amon-Ra St. Brown Reveals Just How Bad Ankle Injury Was Before Remarkable Comeback

The Lions star receiver played just a week after spraining his ankle on Thanksgiving Day.

St. Brown toughed out an ankle injury to haul in six receptions for 92 yards in Detroit's victory. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

After watching Amon-Ra St. Brown haul in six receptions for 92 yards in Detroit's 44-30 win over the Cowboys on Thursday night, just a week after spraining his ankle on Thanksgiving Day, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs had a fitting word to describe the star receiver's stunning turnaround to be able to play through an ankle sprain on such short notice.

Gibbs called St. Brown, “Wolverine,” the comic book character with regenerative healing abilities. And the comparison might not be far off.

St. Brown, speaking to reporters after the game, admitted he didn't think he'd be able to be as productive as he was, given that he “could barely walk” after suffering the injury in the team's Thanksgiving loss to the Packers.

“No,” St. Brown said when asked if he thought he'd be able to do as much as he did. “So after the game, I hurt it Thursday. Friday I couldn’t walk, I was on crutches. Saturday I could barely walk. At that point I was like, ‘I probably can’t play, it hurts too bad.’ Sunday I was able to walk, felt a little better, tried to jog and couldn’t even do a warmup... Kind of down, feeling like I couldn’t play. And then Tuesday came and I felt a lot better... I felt like I had a chance. Wednesday I was like, O.K., I feel I can play.”

So, in addition to relying on his Wolverine-like tendencies, what did St. Brown do to improbably get himself in position to play?

“I just rested it, honestly” he said. “This type of injury, you can't really do much. You got to rest it. I was in the training room a lot. The training staff did a great job doing all different types of modalities and things like that.”

St. Brown, one of the toughest players in the league, made it clear he was adamant about playing once he knew he had a chance.

“I was gonna do everything to be out there, just to be out there for my guys,” St. Brown said. “Availability is the best ability at the end of the day. My job is to go out there, make plays and be on that field. That’s what they pay me to do, so I was going to do whatever it takes to be out there. With the help of our training staff—they did a great job, I think they’re amazing—they got me back.”

Dan Campbell, Jared Goff rave about St. Brown after win over Cowboys

St. Brown wasted no time in showing his health, as he caught a seven-yard pass on the Lions' first play from scrimmage, then picked up 26 yards on a catch-and-run on the Lions' third drive of the game. His sixth reception of the game was historic, as it was the 511th of his career, surpassing Michael Thomas for the most by a receiver in the first five seasons of a career.

“He's becoming that player we always knew he could be,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “He's as reliable as the guys I've ever played with at this point. Third down, fourth down, don't matter. He'll make the play. He'll show up.”

Lions coach Dan Campbell believes St. Brown is a “rare” breed.

“Where he goes, we go,” Campbell said. “And his toughness and his willpower, his desire to compete. To help those guys around him to do whatever it takes to win is second to none. He's rare, man.”

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