Browns tight end has staph infection on right leg, appears lighter than 225 pounds he says he weighs
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On top of everything else, Kellen Winslow Jr. now has to overcome a staph infection that has left him gaunt, frail and quiet compared to the broad-chested, cocky tight end the Browns selected with their first draft pick in 2004.
Winslow was in the locker room Tuesday and spoke to reporters for the first time since crashing his motorcycle May 1, an accident that is costing him the 2005 season. He was barely recognizable.
Winslow's cheeks were sunken and his shoulders, once massive, sloped from a thin neck. He was pale, and even his voice seemed thinner and softer than before the accident. The only similarity between the man sitting at his locker Tuesday and the one who shouted he was a soldier after a University of Miami-Tennessee game in 2003, eyes glaring as he cursed a reporter, was the name Kellen Winslow Jr.
"It was a mistake what happened," Winslow said softly, referring to the motorcycle accident. "I have to prove to Cleveland and to myself mostly that I can come back. I'm determined I will. I'm disappointed I'm not playing this year, but it will fly by. I just have to deal with it."
Winslow said he has had the staph infection in his right leg for six weeks, which means it started about a month after his June 14 reconstructive surgery to repair a torn right anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the accident. He theorizes he incurred the infection rubbing Vitamin E healing ointment on the scar.
An intravenous catheter in a vein in Winslow's left arm is covered by an athletic sleeve. He continues to receive antibiotics.
Winslow's program weight is 254 pounds. He says he weighs 225 now and looks much lighter.
The staph infection is preventing Winslow from lifting weights, for fear the catheter might pop out. It is ironic because he started working out at the Browns' training complex the day after his release from Cleveland Clinic on May 9 following the motorcycle crash. Since he cannot lift, and since he cannot run because of the knee surgery, there is not much for him to do except hang with his teammates.
He said he'll resume lifting next week.
"I play video games," Winslow said, smiling for the first time in the interview. "I play Madden all day. They know I'm the best.
"I just chill at home, rest my knee and ice my knee at home."
Winslow said his goal is to be back at full health, with the knee injury and staph infection behind him, by February. And while he cannot lift or run, he is still at the mercy of trainers who contort his knee in ways it would not normally bend. He said he works on his knee four hours a day.
"I'm trying to get range of motion back," he said. "I have a lot of scar tissue that's breaking up. I'm riding the exercise bike. (Trainers) do stress tests. They bend my knee to where I'm almost crying. It's very painful.
"It wasn't just my ACL. It's the swelling that hurts the most. The bruising takes a while to heal."
The challenge before Winslow is monumental. He basically has not played since 2003 as a junior at Miami. He played only two games as a Browns rookie last season before breaking his right fibula and tearing ligaments in his right ankle. He hadn't fully recovered from the ankle injury before the accident.
As it is, everything has to go right - the knee rehab, recovering from the staph infection - for Winslow to play in 2006. A staph infection nearly killed former Browns defensive tackle Jerry Sherk in 1979.
During this recovery process, the Browns and Winslow's agent, Kevin Poston, plus Kellen Winslow Sr., have been working on a new contract for Winslow. The Browns still believe he can be the dominant player he was in college and are prepared to pay him accordingly. But Winslow has to hold up his end of the bargain.
If he cannot play or holds out or anything of the sort before the contract expires as the end of the 2011 season, the Browns can go after more than $10 million in bonus money.
"Other organizations might have released me," Winslow said. "Mr. Lerner and Phil Savage, thank you. I love the organization. This is where I want to be. They know the type of person I am. I made a mistake. I have to prove everybody wrong and come back."
Winslow said he knew he was violating his contract when he rode his motorcycle, but he described himself as "an edgy kind of guy" who thought he was "invincible." He said he will be wiser next time and gets the sense fans are willing to forgive him
More than anything, Winslow says he misses the camaraderie of being part of the team, particularly with the start of the season just 11 days away.
"I love this game more than anything," Winslow said. "I'll be back. That's my drive - just watching the players play and coming back."
