Total Pro Sports
Former Houston Texans star linebacker Brian Cushing says he’s “lucky to be walking” after undergoing more than two dozen surgeries to fix his body.
Cushing, the No. 15 pick of 2009, spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Texans. The AFC South club released him after the 2017 season, and Cushing decided to retire at the age of 31.
Brian Cushing’s early retirement was a surprise to many, given his age and the fact that he was still a productive do-it-all linebacker and renowned locker room leader. But during an episode of the “Chasing Edges” podcast, Cushing detailed how banged-up his body was and proved that he made the wise choice to retire early.
“I gave everything I had. I’m lucky to be walking, basically…27 surgeries, 4-5 every year. Some, maybe more. Some, maybe less…Practice was really important to me. Like, I would knock myself out at practice.”
(WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS LANGUAGE THAT IS NSFW):
🚨🚨THIS IS INSANE🚨🚨
FORMER #TEXANS LB BRIAN CUSHING HAD 5 SURGERIES EVERY OFFSEASON & HAS HAD 27 SURGERIES.
“I gave everything I had. I'm lucky to be walking. I had 27 surgeries. Like, 4 or 5 every year. I would knock myself out at practice.”
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 12, 2025
Brian Cushing won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2009 and earned his only Pro Bowl nod. That year, he finished with four sacks, four interceptions, 10 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and 133 combined tackles.
Two years later, Cushing earned a Second-team All-Pro selection after helping the Texans to their first playoff appearance and postseason victory in franchise history. That year, Cushing had two interceptions, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles, four sacks and 114 combined tackles.
Cushing retired with eight interceptions, 13.5 sacks, 30 pass breakups, nine forced fumbles and 664 combined tackles in his nine-year career.
Unfortunately, injuries and suspensions for violating the NFL’s policy on PEDs limited Cushing to 104 games in his nine-year career. He only played all 16 regular-season games three times and was limited to 12 contests over the 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
Cushing tore his ACL in a Week 5 game against the New York Jets in 2012, and the Texans’ defense wasn’t the same that year. They finished 12-4 that year, the best mark in franchise history, and there’s no telling how far they could have gone if Cushing was healthy for their playoff run.
