Michael Brockers’ first experience as an unrestricted free agent probably didn’t go as he planned. He landed a three-year deal worth up to $30 million from the Ravens, agreeing to terms on the first day of the legal tampering period.
His deal wasn’t signed and made official, though, as he was unable to go to Baltimore and take a physical for the team due to the coronavirus. Less than two weeks later, his contract with the Ravens fell through due to Baltimore’s concerns about his injured ankle.
Brockers quickly landed back with the Rams that same day, staying with the team that drafted him in the first round eight years ago. He got to stay in Los Angeles and the Rams kept their best run defender.
On Chris Long’s podcast, “Green Light,” Brockers spoke about his free agency experience for the first time and explained how it went.
“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.”
Brockers has a home in Houston, which is where he took a physical for the Ravens after agreeing to a deal. The results were then sent over to Baltimore’s team doctor, who forwarded his MRI and X-rays to an ankle specialist for a further look.
It was at that point that the Ravens decided to back out, fearing that Brockers would need surgery on the ankle he injured in Week 17.
“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.”
Brockers told Long that he doesn’t feel any ill-effects from the ankle injury, despite being frustrated about the timing of when he got hurt. He says he feels fine and has been working out this offseason.
“I feel great. I’ve been working out the whole time,” Brockers said, adding that “it worked out the way it was supposed to.”
It’s possible the Ravens used Brockers’ ankle injury as an excuse to back out of the deal, especially considering how quickly the Rams were willing to re-sign him. Brockers doesn’t seem to think it’s a concern, either, which is telling.
But regardless of how disappointing and difficult this free agency experience was, he’s happy to be back in Los Angeles.