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Former Pro Bowl FB Le'Ron McClain details head injuries on Twitter: 'My brain is f---ing tired'

Ben Weinrib
·Yahoo Sports Contributor
KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 9: Le'Ron McClain #33 of the Baltimore Ravens looks on against the Kansas City Chiefs during the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 9, 2011 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Ravens defeated the Chiefs 30-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Two-time Pro Bowl fullback Le'Ron McClain played in the NFL for seven seasons. (Getty)

Fullback Le’Ron McClain made the most of his time in the NFL. Over seven seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers, he made two Pro Bowl teams and was first-team All-Pro in 2008.

But McClain has been out of the league since 2014, and retirement apparently has not been easy.

The 34-year-old has sustained multiple severe concussions over his career, which has made life hard for him. McClain voiced his struggles with those head injuries on Twitter in a series of messages Saturday morning:

Plainly, McClain’s tweets are hard to read. The man is struggling with head injuries and cognitive function, which is devastating amid a community that is painfully familiar with the topic.

A number of former players have dealt with traumatic brain injuries. A New York Times study revealed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in 110 of 111 former NFL players, and even accounting for valid issues with the study, it’s still a distressing indicator.

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McClain has talked about dealing with head injuries before. In a 2013 story written by Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman, one of his many concussions was documented in vivid detail.

He was with the Kansas City Chiefs. It was 2011. There was a collision, the details of which he still cannot exactly remember. The symptoms began with a dull pain in his neck, then a tingling sensation that started in his feet, then a constellation in his head.

The stars eventually disappeared, but the tingling stayed.

McClain stayed on the ground for a moment, then slowly made his way to the bench. He put his helmet close by, thinking he would shake it off and return to the game. This is the fighter mentality. This is what players like him have done for a generation.

Fullback is arguably the most vulnerable position to concussion because it requires blocking and making head-on contact each down. But concussions aren’t the only contributing factor to CTE; a recent Boston University study found that repetitive hits to the head was the largest factor.

At the same time, though, fullbacks have largely fallen out of favor in the NFL as the passing game has opened up. Many teams don’t employ fullbacks, and teams only used multiple-running back sets 18.8 percent of plays last season, according to Sharp Football Stats. And even that includes instances where teams used two true running backs, such as the Chicago Bears’ Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen.

The NFL and its fans have become far more aware of how head injuries affect players, but being able to help players who are already dealing with those consequences is important, too. The NFLPA has several tools to help players, although McClain could be experiencing how paperwork can slow that process down.

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