At Peace with Himself, Brandon Brooks is Ready to be the Best Again
PHILADELPHIA - Brandon Brooks is not only back from a second Achilles tear in three years, the star right guard has also brushed off the trade rumors that often accompany a 32-year-old, high-priced veteran with an injury history in the NFL.
The big man is at peace with himself and his status as one of the league's best interior offensive lineman, so much so that the former All-Pro showed up to his Zoom availability Thursday with a t-shirt that conveyed that message.
If you were expecting disappointment, you instead got Zen with Brooks, who is as comfortable as he's ever been in his own skin.
"It’s funny," he said. "When stuff like that happens, things get put into perspective. You see things in a different light. For me, obviously, I’ve had my struggles. … and it’s just seeing stuff in a different light than I did before.
"I am at peace, man."
Brooks confirmed he was cleared as a full-go late last season and practiced for the Week 17 finale against the Washington Football Team.
He noted that if the Eagles had made the miracle run and somehow won the NFC East, the plan was that he would have played in the postseason, an astonishing feat considering that he tore the Achilles in June.
"The reason I practiced the last week of the season … basically, if we had gotten to the playoffs, I would have played in the playoffs," Brooks told SI.com's Eagle Maven. "That was the reason I practiced. So, when I got cleared in December, I was cleared, cleared, good to go."
Brooks said his first Achilles tear, in the 2018 postseason against New Orleans, helped him when it came to rehabbing the second one.
"When it happened the second time … honestly, I just laughed and people were like, ‘Why are you laughing? You just tore your Achilles.’ I’m like, ‘It’s life. It happens.’ I’ve seen the highest of highs, the lowest of lows," said Brooks.
"… I’ve been down this road. I know what to expect. I know how it’s supposed to feel at each checkpoint. ... So the first one helped me with the second one."
Brooks also addressed the trade rumors head-on.
"Well, it was true," he said. "We can just get that out there. Usually, I don’t want to say rumors are true because that’s not the case, but if it’s enough, people seeing it, it has to be something. Something happened, right? How do I feel about it? This is a business, man. The second you lose sight of [that] is the second it gets to you.
"For me, I get it, right? I’m an older guy who’s coming off an injury. At the time, we were cap-strapped, I’m making a lot of money. I get it. So it didn’t hurt my feelings. I understand it’s a business, man."
The only thing that was an issue for Brooks is how he heard about the potential change of address.
"Instead of hearing it from my mom," he said. "My mom being like, ‘Hey, where are we going?’ It would have been nice to get a phone call [from the Eagles] saying, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on?"
"... Other than that, it’s a business, man. I never lose sight of that … I don’t use it as fuel because a trade doesn’t make me doubt myself."
It seems like nothing puts doubt in Brooks' mind these days and that's good news for a rookie coach like Nick Sirianni and a young quarterback in Jalen Hurts.
"Again, I’ve seen the highest of the highs and lowest of the lows, and through it all, thank God, I woke up the next day," said Brooks. "No matter how bad things have seemed, how great things have seemed, I’ve come through it."
Brooks plans to come through the 2021 season as the best in the business.
"I think the biggest thing that everyone is forgetting is that I tore my Achilles before, and when I came back, I was the best, period," he said. "So with that being said, what tells you that it’ll be different this time?"
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
