Caleb Harris
FRISCO, Texas – Dallas Cowboys 2023 First-Team All Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey played football non-stop for about a year, between playing in the USFL with the Birmingham Stallions and then joining the Cowboys last season.
This offseason provided Aubrey, who made his first 36 NFL field goals and set the single-season league record for touchbacks (99), a much-needed break.
“Everything went well,” Aubrey said when asked about his offseason process at the 2024 Reliant Home Run Derby, in which all proceeds went to the Salvation Army. “[I] I rested, got healthy, relaxed and took a mental break. It’s my first break since before the USFL season, so it’s been a full year [until now]. … You don’t really realize where you are until you slow down and stop. Maybe there was a little bit of mental fatigue, a little bit of fatigue in that leg, so it was nice to have that break.”
Aubrey’s body also forced him to kick back, relax and stay on the couch with his family: he had appendicitis. However, in a time when players choose not to regularly attend the Pro Bowl, the first-year NFL player did everything in his power to be in Las Vegas for the event. He delayed the procedure to remove his appendix until he returned home to Texas following the conclusion of the Pro Bowl in early February.
“Some forced R&R there,” Aubrey said with a laugh. “I had it all out [removed] the day after the Pro Bowl. … It was four days until the Pro Bowl when it started hurting, so I went to the doctor and they checked it out. They did an exam and said, ‘Yes, you have appendicitis.’ I wanted to be in the Pro Bowl, so they gave me some antibiotics instead of taking them off right then and there, to give me 10 days, and then I made it through the Pro Bowl and made it. [removed] When I arrived at home.”
He is the second Dallas Cowboy to need his appendix removed in the last year, as head coach Mike McCarthy has also youunderwent a procedure to deal with acute appendicitis back to week 14 of last season. Aubrey didn’t take any advice from her coach on this, opting to take notes exclusively from medical professionals. As for his approach to the 2023 encore, in which he went 36 for 38 on field goals, the kicker is opting for a fresh start. He won’t put an emphasis on trying to replicate everything from last year.
“It’s rinse and reset,” Aubrey said. “You just want to go out there and play every game. I thought about it this offseason, liked it, and then put it on the shelf; I have to go out and make sure it’s a good year too.”
Who knows, maybe Aubrey will be able to return to the Pro Bowl in a much healthier state next season.
