BEREA (AP) — Following his first practice in nearly a month because of a concussion, Browns tight end Jordan Cameron turned and tapped his hand lovingly on the photo taped inside his locker.
It’s one of his smiling 5-year-old son, Tristan, the joy of Cameron’s life.
“I’ve got this little guy,” Cameron said. “I wouldn’t come back if I felt like I was in danger of not being there for him.”
Cameron returned to practice Friday for the first time since Oct. 24, two days before he sustained his third concussion in less than two years on a vicious hit against Oakland. The 26-year-old has spent the past few weeks waiting for symptoms to subside, but Friday was the first time he was able to get on the field to run pass routes, make catches and feel like an NFL player again.
“When you’re not with your teammates for a month it feels good to be back,” he said.
Cameron, though, will not play this week when the Browns (4-6) visit the Atlanta Falcons. Cameron has continued to experience “little mini headaches” which have kept him from being fully cleared until Friday. He’s followed the NFL’s strict protocol on head injuries since he was struck in the back of the head by Raiders safety Brandian Ross, who was fined $22,050 by the league for his hit.
Cameron feels he has finally turned the corner. He has visited two specialists, who have assured him he is not taking a major risk if he keeps playing. Cameron said tests on his brain indicate he has not sustained any major damage.
“I spoke to two neurologists, took tests with these neurologists, they looked at my results in great detail, they were looking at everything and they said, ‘Your baseline from six years ago is the same as now. You won’t get any lost memory. Everything is the exact same as it was six years ago.’
“Now the main thing they say is if you come back too early and you get another concussion, if you get hit again and get a concussion, that’s when you see the damage when I’m 50 years old. And I wouldn’t come back.”