Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers‘ first dip into the free agency pool was likely not what he expected. Although he was met with a number of different bidders right off the bat, his suitor turned out to be a false hope.
The eight-year veteran decided the Baltimore Ravens were the team for him before they backed out over an ankle injury Brockers suffered in December of last year. Brockers then quickly re-signed with the Rams following the news that his contract fell through with Baltimore, so he will be returning to the only organization he has ever known for three more years.
In an interview with former teammate Chris Long, Brockers detailed his experience and how he ended up back in L.A. after his contract fell through, via Cameron DaSilva of USA Today:
“For me personally, I was just ready for whatever journey was coming my way,” he said. “I definitely wanted to be at home, but if I had the chance to make some more money and possibly get back to a Super Bowl, at the same time, I was going to run with that. At that time, Baltimore seemed to be the best option.
“Early on, it was definitely a bidding war. I had a lot of teams just because I can do a lot of things. But early on, it was definitely Baltimore, the Rams – because I wanted to play that 5, 4i, 5(-technique) defensive end position. Knowing Baltimore from last year and just seeing everything they had and then they added Calais Campbell and I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s no way. This is going to be crazy.’ At that point, it was a done deal. But going through physicals, you know how that works. Being a little bit older in the league, they see a couple things.”
Due to the stay at home regulations in response to the coronavirus, Brockers completed his physicals in his hometown of Houston. The results were sent to the Ravens, who apparently sent them to an ankle specialist for further analysis:
“I did my physical here in Houston. I go to the doctor, they take X-rays and I did an MRI,” he said. “The doctor sent it to Baltimore and Baltimore’s doctor gets to look at it and he says, ‘You know, I’m not a specialist, but I’m going to send it to a guy that I truly trust and he’s a third-party doctor. He’ll just tell me what’s up.’ I guess that doctor told him I might need something like a surgery and they were like, ‘Oh.’
“They get my MRI, they get all this stuff. Then we don’t hear from them after that. And I guess that’s the process where they were sending MRIs to Anderson or whoever and getting his word for it.”
Although it is disappointing for Brockers, the Rams are certainly happy to have him back. A handful of the Rams’ other defensive starters have already signed elsewhere, so Brockers re-signing should be a big win for the team both on and off the field as he is also one of their main leaders in the locker room.
