It’s refreshing to hear pro athletes focusing on their performance before pay, much as Cowboys receiver Miles Austin recently indicated he would do instead of holding out for a new contract.
As an unsigned restricted free agent, Dolphins tailback Ronnie Brown is in a position similar to Austin’s. Of course he’d like a long-term extension, but he’s participating in offseason workouts anyway because he wants to get better.
Imagine that.
“When you worry about outside things is when you become affected on the field with how you’re playing,” said Brown. “I try not to worry about that and not let things bother me. ... When it comes, you address it at the time. But I just got to keep playing football, and that’s what I get paid to do.”
Brown, rehabbing from a Lisfranc foot fracture, estimated that he’s currently at 80-percent health. Unfortunately, running backs coming off foot surgeries don’t get long-term deals. And especially not at age 28.
Though Brown has been highly productive whenever on the field, he’s been off it too much. Through five years in the NFL, he has just one 16-game season. He’s suffered season-ending, surgery-requiring injuries in two of the last three years.
Brown may go down as one of the most effective per-play backs of this generation to never receive a post-rookie contract pay day that reflected it.