Most of the recent news surrounding the Baltimore Ravens' Sergio Kindle has been about when he may or may not be able to resume "football-related" activities. Since being drafted in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Kindle has not played a down for the Ravens after falling down two flights of steps and cracking his skull just before Training Camp opened last summer. Thus ended Kindle's rookie season even before it began.
More questions arose about his status after he was stopped for driving under the influence last month. There has been speculation that his football career was in jeopardy and his chances at financial security were about to go up in smoke. He received a minimal contract in 2010, losing out on well over a million dollars compared to most early-second round picks. Rumor is that if he never plays, the insurance contract he took out to cover him would be voided as the incident was supposedly due to narcolepsy, a pre-existing condition that was not reported prior to the incident.
When Kindle was drafted, he spoke to the assembled media at the Ravens Practice Facility via conference call moments later. When he was asked about the legal incident at the University of Texas, when he crashed his car into a house and ran from the scene, his response was something like:
"I never realized how far a car can travel when you look down on the floor for your cell phone for 2-3 seconds."
Now, it appears that Kindle is on the verge of being cleared for contact and has been working out like crazy at the Ravens Practice Facility in Owings Mills toward that goal. Referencing an article by The Baltimore Sun's Jamison Hensley, ProFootballTalk.com wrote that Kindle has been "testing" his skull out on his own with an interesting drill to see if he is ready to knock heads with other NFL players.
"I tend to put a helmet on and bang my head against the wall –- not ridiculous crazy hard -– to see how it works. I’ve felt fine," Kindle said. "I want to see what I can do before the doctors evaluate me."
Remember the old adage, "I like to bang my head against the wall, because it feels so good when I stop?" I guess this is proof positive that it actually works, eh!?
Here's hoping that Kindle is cleared to resume football activities, as his health will go a long way to determining the need for the Ravens to go after another pass rusher in April's NFL Draft and could provide much needed depth at the OLB position. Besides, we'll be able to get more of these classic quotes from him to pass onto you!