National Post (National Edition)
The epitome of perseverance
CANADIAN-BORN NFL LINEMAN USED TO DEALING WITH INJURIES
Exactly one year ago in this very space, to preview the first Sunday games of the NFL regular season, I profiled the indefatigable Baltimore Ravens defensive end Brent Urban.
I’m doing it again, for — I think you’ll agree — good reason.
Urban, a proud Canadian and native of Toronto neighbour Mississauga (population: 781,000), last year expressed relief, pride and joy at finally being named a starter for the Ravens after spending much of his first three years in the NFL recuperating from a pair of serious injuries. One was an ACL tear just weeks after the Ravens took him in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and that was followed by a biceps tear the following summer.
The belief within the Ravens building last summer was that a healthy, fastimproving, monster-sized Urban (he stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 300 pounds) could be on verge of a breakout season on the interior of the Ravens’ 3-4 defensive interior line, especially after Urban flashed dominance in each of his 2017 pre-season appearances. In the 75 snaps in which he saw action, he forced two fumbles, registered one sack, had three tackles for losses and seven tackles overall.
“This is the best I’ve felt mentally and physically,” Urban said at the time, several days before Baltimore’s opener.
Then it happened. Again.
Another serious, seasonwrecking injury.
In a Week 3 game at
Wembley Stadium in London, England, Urban was pressuring a Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman when Jags centre Brandon Linder tripped over the legs of Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce, and landed on Urban’s planted right foot.
Urban crumpled. He knew it was serious.
“It was a torn ligament in my foot,” the 27-year-old told Postmedia six weeks ago at training camp.
Specifically, it’s called a Lisfranc injury. You’ll cringe at his description of it, and how the foot had to be repaired.
“Basically, a Lisfranc is an injury to the ligaments that hold your big toe and middle toe together. They get either stretched or torn. That’s what happened. It’s about the spacing between the big toe and middle toe. Basically it got stretched apart. They have to screw it back into place to heal. Then they took the screw out. Fun stuff,” said Urban.
Not so much.
And so, a third fluke, serious injury shelved Urban for another season, and the remainder of his rookie contract.
“It was the perfect storm, the perfect chain reaction that wound up with me being out for the year. But you know, that’s how it goes. It’s a game where guys are falling on almost every play. Bad luck happens, and you move on.”
Urban has had far more than his share.
Two parties, however, never stopped believing he could become a reliable, quality NFL starter for years to come: Urban himself, and the Ravens.
Probably a number of NFL teams would have given up on Urban, if not the first couple of years then certainly in March of this year when he was set to become a free agent.
But the Ravens re-signed him — to a one-year “proveit” contract reportedly worth $1.1 million.
“He was one of my favourite guys in that 2014 draft,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in a training-camp interview. “I personally liked Brent as much as anyone coming out. I thought he fit us. He looked to me like an old Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end. I think when he’s been able to play, he’s been that.
He just needs a full season, so everybody can know what we know.”
Urban said he happily accepted what he called a fair offer, considering he’d played in only 25 of a possible 64 games from 2014-17, and all but three as a backup.
“Yeah, no question. I love it here,” Urban said. “It’s the only place I’ve ever played as a pro. The organization has been great to me. All the coaches and everything. I’ve grown so much here, and been through so much, and improved so much as a player.
“So I wanted to come back, and it was a great boost of confidence for me that they still thought I could come back from all these injuries. It definitely meant
a lot. I’m ecstatic, and just so thankful that they let me come back to prove it, which I think I’m well equipped to do.”
You should know that off the field Urban projects a friendly, modest, smiles-alot persona. And, for what seemed like his umpteenth interview with Postmedia dominated by injury and recovery talk, he also exudes an unmistakably evenkeeled, oh-well-what-canyou-do attitude.
Without it, he probably couldn’t have overcome the frustrating series of injuries over the four-year period. Even he realizes that.
“It’s just one of those things where, unfortunately,
I’ve had to deal with injuries a lot,” he said. “My attitude has always been just a gowith-the-flow kind of guy. I love playing football. I love the grind. I’ve got so used to it where I’m well equipped for an injury to happen. I kind of know where my body needs to be at.
“And as these injuries have kept happening, I’ve become more mature. I really understand what I do well, what I need to do to be productive on the field, and how my body has to feel. Just all that kind of stuff.”
Through his own experience of spending so many months at Ravens headquarters on crutches, or in a walking boot, or with an arm in a sling, he’s paid close attention to how veteran
Ravens players attack their injuries. He’s learned from veterans such as the now retired D-lineman Chris Canty, Haloti Ngata now with the Eagles, seven-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Terrell Suggs and six-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda.
“I spent my first whole year on IR,” Urban said. “But that was a great opportunity for me to just kind of sit back and watch these guys, to see how they prepare, and how they handle going on IR. It’s helped me to get back faster, knowing how to come off an injury.
“There’s been so many times here where, you know, I haven’t been able to run being on crutches. It’s all of those little steps, now, where I know kind of how my body should feel at each and every incremental step. When you experience something once, you’re better at it the second time around. And I feel like, since September, I just knew how to handle this injury.”
Perhaps to the surprise of some, Urban was healed and “pretty much ready to go” once team workouts and drills began in April and May.
“It was a case, though, where no one was rushing me.”
By the time the Ravens opened their training camp in the second last week of July, Urban said he was given the “full go” by team medical staff.
“And I still feel great,” he said.
You have to ask Urban how he gets past the thought that he’s just injury-prone. Or vexed. Or both. And how he’s able to push thoughts out of his mind that the next major injury could always be just a play away.
Urban said he doesn’t look at any of it that way.
“I’ve looked at players who have been injured a lot — guys around the league — and I’ll kind of see how they handled it, how they did when they got back. I’ve done enough research on it so I feel like I’m prepared, and that this has been done before, that I’m not like some kind of freak, like some kind of walking injury, you know?
“When you’re prepared, you feel more comfortable in situations. Being sharper mentally makes it easier to get over these things, too, because it’s almost more of a mental toll than anything. That’s going to help me get through and remain positive no matter what.”
Harbaugh offered a slightly different, rational take uprooted in jinxes or hoodoos or luck.
“Somebody just fell on him. That’s it,” Harbaugh said. “He’s kind of had that his whole career, though. Even in college he got hurt a lot. But I also think some of that if that he’s a tall, angular guy and gets into awkward positions sometimes. But he has trained so hard. He’s so strong right now. I don’t think that’ll happen much more. Now he’s strong enough to get his feet out of the way, and move his lower body out of the way of piles and things. I’ll be surprised if he gets hurt again.”
At mid-afternoon on Friday, the Ravens released their final injury report before Sunday’s regular-season opener at home against the Buffalo Bills.
Urban’s name wasn’t on it. He’s starting at defensive end.
THIS IS THE BEST I’VE FELT MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY.