Brandon Browner: I played through torn MCL in 2015

Brandon Browner easily had his worst season as a pro in 2015, and it was hardly a surprise when the New Orleans Saints decided to release him this offseason. Now, Browner is hoping NFL teams will take into consideration that he played through a serious injury last season.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Browner explained that he never fully recovered from a torn MCL his suffered during the preseason.

How my season started last year, tore my MCL in the first pre season game. But I kept positive minds set trying to get back for week 1 of regular season. Anyone who has tore something in the knee knows the little muscles around the knee go dead. So your recovery is things to strengthen that area and get the muscles to firing again. Anyways I come back wearing a knee brace because my injury wasn't completely held. I never wanted to make an excuse, so I played thru it. And when I got beat on a play I gave credit where credits do. You'll never catch me say I didn't play well because my knee. Because I don't believe that, but I was restricted at times. Last year was the most frustrating year for me, those who know me knew I was affected by it. I didn't want to leave the house, and all I was thinking about is playing better each week. But that never happened for me. And this is a BIG part of what drives me everyday.

A photo posted by Brandon Browner (@bbrowner39) on Apr 6, 2016 at 8:38am PDT

While Browner claimed he wasn’t making excuses, he almost certainly was sharing that information in an attempt to convince NFL teams that there was a reason for his down year. Call that what you will.

Browner will turn 32 this summer. That is not a good age for a cornerback, and he has virtually no chance of being paid like a starter. We know how frustrating of a year it was for him, and his Twitter beef with Shannon Sharpe was evidence of that. Still, the torn MCL might end up deterring teams, not providing them with an explanation for the veteran’s poor play.