49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks made the Pro Bowl and second-team All Pro last season, but the team isn’t worried that his personal success has gone to his head.
If anything, they’re worried that it has gone to his belly. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Tuesday that he hopes Brooks can turn in a repeat of his 2013 performance, but he’s concerned that Brooks is carrying extra weight that has been “holding him back” this summer. Brooks agreed that he needs to trim up and blamed something familiar to many of us when discussing why his weight has become an issue this season.
“It’s all about eating right,” Brooks said, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’m 30 years old now, so my metabolism has slowed down. So it takes a little bit longer (to lose weight) than before. … Some of the things I used to get away with, I can’t get away with any more. Yeah, I do have to lose some weight. Is it affecting me? I don’t know. But, yeah, maybe a little bit.”
Brooks said it is unrealistic that he’ll lose the needed weight, 5-10 pounds by his estimation, before the start of the regular season. With NaVorro Bowman out for at least the first six weeks of the season and league discipline for Aldon Smith still a possibility, the team will need a productive Brooks at any weight.