Former Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown Speaks About Team, Teammates And More
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Former Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown appeared on the Brown and Scoop Podcast on Tuesday.
Brown spoke about his NFL career, former Dolphins teammate Ricky Williams, concussions in football and more.
Quote from the interview can be read below, or scroll down to listen to the full interview.
ON RICKY WILLIAMS:
"It was kind of over exaggerated. Knowing Ricky and us having a relationship the way we did, he's just a free spirit. Ricky is one of those people that if he thinks a certain way that's how he's gonna think, nothing is going to be affected by how people around him act, how people around him think. He's one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, probably give you the clothes off his back. If that's what he chose to do he was going to do it. It didn't matter if that was a rule. That's how he handled a situation."
"Ricky was one of those guys…he didn't do it as much as it was portrayed. Most of that stuff happened before I got there. The misconception is he quit football to smoke weed. That's so far from the truth. Just me knowing Ricky…we sat down, we had numerous conversations…I think he was dealing with a situation where for two seasons in a row, he was leading the league in carries. I think he got close to breaking the record in carries. His body just…I think he was frustrated with that part of it. The way the team was going, he felt like they were going to run him in the ground. He didn't feel like they did anything to help him on the offensive side of the ball and he didn't know if he could take that type of pounding for another season so him being a free spirit he is…it's not about money with Ricky, he could care less about that, it's just my health and I don't think it's beneficial for me and walked away."
ON NEARLY RETIRING:
Then I went to Philadelphia, I was a part of the dream team, but my skillset didn't fit so well with what Philly was doing at the time. What I thought I was going to be doing, I wasn't doing. I was frustrated. At that time, just to put it out there, during that season, I was pretty much ready to retire. Doing what I had done during that season, I put too much into it to have to go through something like this, but it made me stronger. I was fortunate to catch on the following season in San Diego and the game came along and I enjoyed it."
ON CONCUSSIONS:
"You know in the old days a lot of guys were like I got my bell rung, but at that time there was no concussion protocol or any of that stuff. Not to say that I had a concussion, but whose to say you just never know. I have never been completely knocked out so I know that. I've never had to take the snooze on the turf, but with that being said, I don't think it takes a lot to have a concussion. I think that's just the nature of the game. I think the protocol has gotten very strenuous."
"There were guys who were straddling the fence on making the team, and you see guys in the hot tub, cold tub, doing this extra stuff to try and make sure they're not in the training room and everyone knows the saying 'you can't make the club in the tub.' A lot of guys try not to go in the training room so if you're one of those guys and you're straddling the fence on if you're gonna make the team, a lot of guys will do whatever it takes to make sure they're able to do whatever their job is to be on the team, to be on that 53 at the end of the preseason."
