Nick Piccone
Eagles guard Brandon Brooks has missed two of the last three Eagles games with what the team described as an illness that landed him in the hospital. The Eagles didn’t really disclose any more information, and reporters couldn’t exactly get to the root of what was ailing Brooks.
Today, Brooks opened up to the media about what he called an “anxiety condition” which has gotten the better of him the last two of three weeks.
“I found out recently that I have an anxiety condition,” Brooks said at his locker. “What I mean by anxiety condition….not nervousness or fear of the game, what it is is I have an obsession with the game. It’s an unhealthy obsession right now. I’m working with team doctors to get everything straightened out and get the help I need.”
“The only time you guys notice is game day,” Brooks said. “But it’s happened Friday, Monday, Tuesday. It can happen any time.”
Last season, Brooks missed two games with the same condition while a member of the Houston Texans.
“For the longest, I thought it was an ulcer or something physical with my stomach. I didn’t know it could possibly be something else. I would get sick maybe twice a year. But it wasn’t like how it was this time, where it was one game I played, then the next game it happened again.”
Going forward, Brooks sounded confident that he would not be missing any more time now that he has gotten to the root of the problem.
“I’m taking steps now. First, once you got an issue or problem, you got to admit. I admit it. I accept it. I own it,” Brooks said of his anxiety condition. “Get the medication I need to tone it down…(I’m going to) talk to somebody, figure out why I’ve constantly searching to be perfect and if I’m not perfect, I don’t feel like I’ve done my job or that it was good enough.”
Brooks has been taking the medication since the Green Bay game, and it sounds like the organization is giving him all the help he needs. Say what you want about their decisions that affect the on-field product, but they really take care of their players in a great way.
“I love the organization. The organization has been great,” Brooks said. “They’re supporting me with this — the head coach (Doug Pederson), my position coach (Jeff Stoutland), Howie (Roseman). I’ll make it through. I’ll be okay. Nothing I’m ashamed of. I own it.”