Brown a bright spot in tough year
HOUSTON — The truth and the incredible pain stemming from his gruesomely injured leg were dueling enemies for Pharaoh Brown.
No one, not his mother, nor his wife, nor medical personnel wanted to reveal the potentially awful news.
While playing for Oregon in a road game against Utah, Brown suffered such a serious injury to his right knee — tearing ligaments including his anterior cruciate ligament and stretching an artery in his leg, which caused internal bleeding and cut off blood flow below his shin — that doctors considered amputating his lower leg.
The injury was so gross as Brown awkwardly stepped on a teammate’s foot that cameras cut away from him and the replay wasn’t shown. It initially was thought he had only sustained ligament damage. Hours later, a Salt Lake City doctor briefed him about the severity of his artery and informed him he needed to undergo surgery to save the leg.
“I didn’t find out that my leg could have been cut off right away,” Brown said Thursday. “It was a similar injury to what happened with Zach Miller from the Bears (career-ending torn artery and knee dislocation). Everyone kept it positive and we just kept work
ing. Yes, losing my leg was a possibility. God willing, I was able to make the comeback, and everybody supported me through everything.”
Six years after a major injury that required three surgeries, four years into his professional career and on his third team after going undrafted, the Texans tight end scored his first NFL touchdown Sunday against the Browns, who cut him in September.
“It was a surreal moment, just to be there in my hometown,” said Brown, who caught a 16-yard pass from Deshaun Watson for the score. “Even the guys on the Browns when I scored
on them, just to see those guys congratulating me, I felt a lot of love. To have people see what I do and acknowledge that and know that you’ve earned the respect of the guys around you, it means a lot.
“It’s a blessing to be able to have this opportunity. I dedicated myself over the years and continued to work hard. This is just the beginning. I’m going to continue to do what I do and not get too high off of my first touchdown. I will continue to grind.”
From concern at first that he wouldn’t be able to walk or run again, Brown has completed a remarkable comeback and emerged as a success story for the 2-7 Texans.
Discovered during a free agent tryout and initially signed to the practice squad, Brown has contributed as a versatile tight end who can block capably and is a good route runner and big target at 6-foot-6, 258 pounds.
“He’s done a really good job of bringing a physical element to us, particularly in the run game,” Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said. “We talked about him last week, being so big and long. He does a really good job of not only using those tools and being physical, but being a student of the game and really taking pride in knowing basically a multitude of positions.”
When Brown was a rookie with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent, he absorbed a lot of knowledge from veteran tight ends Jared Cook and Lee Smith.
“I had a good opportunity my rookie year because Jared was a receiving tight end and Lee was predominantly a blocking tight end, so I had the best of both worlds to learn from,” Brown said. “I can do both: block and catch passes. They taught me how to be a pro as far as film study and taking care of my body. Jared was the first person to put me in a hyperbaric chamber. I’m thankful to have learned from them.”