New Ravens receiver John Brown was diagnosed with the sickle cell trait in October 2016, but Brown blames a cyst on his spine as a bigger problem.
“I’m healthy. I’m feeling good,” Brown said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN. “Sickle cell was never part of the problem.”
Brown signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Ravens and expects bigger things than the past two seasons. He set career highs in 2015, before his health problems, with 65 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns.
He has had the same number of starts, fewer catches, fewer yards and fewer touchdowns the past two seasons combined than he did in 2015.
But the draining of the cyst after the 2016 season fixed his biggest problem, Brown said, and he hopes for a return to health this season.
“It was just something we couldn’t decide on or what they could find,” Brown said. “So, they just used it as a ‘sickle cell trait’ until they found I had a cyst in my spine. I’m fine; I’m healthy, and I know how to handle the situation.”