BEREA, Ohio — Browns linebacker Jordan Hicks has been on the sidelines in four of the team's nine games this season. Riddled with injuries, Hicks has had to deal with the frustrations that come along with them, but the ailments he's dealt with ended up being more serious than anticipated.
Hicks, the 32-year-old veteran linebacker who the Browns signed to a two-year contract this March, hates to be away from the field.
"Frustrating. Trying to just let my body heal, but also mentally being engaged and constantly wanting to be out there," Hicks said. "In my 10 years, injury's always been the hardest part of this game, overcoming it and staying positive through it. So anytime you get dealt those cards, it just sucks."
Hicks has certainly been dealt a tough hand this season. In the Week 3 loss to the New York Giants, he sustained an elbow, triceps and rib injury.
"Ended up playing the Raiders game and same elbow, same triceps, tore it— strained it I guess. So yeah, it was a frustrating couple of weeks going through that, tried to come back, played with one arm basically in the Bengals game and thought it was the best decision to heal it and let it do its thing," Hicks said.
The elbow injury was, in fact, an olecranon bursa infection that needed external treatment.
"Checked myself into the hospital after the Giants game," Hicks said. "Spent two days getting antibiotics. I was feverish. The infection was real. So played that game and then ended up breaking my rib during the Giants game. So it was an onslaught of things."
Hicks has broken a rib, strained a triceps and spent two days in the hospital with an elbow infection all through the first 10 weeks of the season.
It hasn't been easy. But fresh off the Browns' bye week, Hicks is feeling healthy and is ready to get back on the field. He'll likely wear the green dot for the defense on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Despite the Browns holding a 2-7 record, Hicks is eager to play—because being sidelined with injury, win or lose, is a challenge Hicks is ready to bounce back from.
"It's a lose-lose, right? Whether the team's winning, you're like, man, I'm missing out on all this excitement and I can't be a part of this. And if you're losing, you're like, damn, I could help. So it's a lose-lose either way. Injury just sucks," Hicks said. "It's just something that you do and you deal with...I know what I deal with and I know what I have to do to get back onto the field."
