ALLEN PARK -- Former Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy has openly criticized the NFL and team owners for the way they've handled brain injuries over the years. Now he's turned his criticism on his old team.

In an appearance before a congressional subcommittee on brain injuries in football, Levy said the Lions tried to silence him when he spoke out about CTE. That includes after he wrote a letter in the Detroit Free Press where he detailed fears he already had the degenerative brain disease.

"The moment I said anything about it, I had two calls telling me I shouldn't talk about it," Levy told the committee. "I don't know if it was because it was CTE, or if it was because it's just the general NFL rule of, like, only football. Only talk about football, only think about football. I posted simply the research ... and I was told not to talk about it the first day it was out. And I'm just, like, you know, it could have just been locker room culture. Nobody wants to talk about anything other than football. But it didn't sit well with me when I'm talking about brain injuries.

"It's my brain. It's not my shoulder, it's my brain. It controls everything I do, it controls everything we think, everything we feel. And if I don't have the right to speak about that as a player, I think it really speaks about the culture of the NFL, of what those conversations are. I think that's indicative of the conversations that we don't hear. The closed-door conversations between owners. They still are trying to find ways to silence us."

The Lions said in a statement: "We are aware of his comments and we strongly disagree with this claim that anyone from our organization tried to silence him."

Levy never mentioned the Ford family by name, but did say he believes ownership is disconnected from the issue, and the franchise doesn't do a good enough job educating players about brain injuries and the risks of playing through them.

"I don't think the owners are in touch with it," Levy said. "It's a business. We're a number. Our brains and bodies are disposable. I can't speak for every team -- I've only been with one team -- but, I mean, I never sat down and talked with the owner. So there's no connection (with) the players. Right now, we're the only ones that will even care about the issue."

Levy blossomed into one of the league's top 4-3 outside linebackers after the Lions took him in the third round of the 2009 draft. He finished second in the league in interceptions in 2013, then second in tackles in 2014, when Detroit returned to the playoffs under first-year coach Jim Caldwell.

He was rewarded with a big-money contract extension during training camp in 2015 -- and then his career began to unravel almost immediately. First there was a hip injury, and then later knee issues, including a torn meniscus. He wound up playing just six games over two years under the new deal and was cut on the eve of free agency in March.

Now Levy has filed a grievance against the club.

Team doctors passed Levy on a physical before cutting him, which meant Detroit could part ways without paying the $1.75 million of his contract that was guaranteed for injury. But Levy told ESPN that three independent doctors have told him the knee isn't actually healthy, and he won't be ready to play until November or December.

He filed a grievance to recoup the $1.75 million.

"We followed everything by the rules," coach Jim Caldwell said. "We did exactly what we were supposed to do. That's probably all I have to say on that. I don't know the details of all these discussions and those kinds of things."

In his post-Lions days, Levy has become critical off the franchise's handling of brain injuries. He detailed some of his own symptoms, including memory problems, forgetfulness, sudden mood changes and a general "fog." He said he knew what those things could mean, but he was struck by how many teammates did not. He blamed the club for not properly educating players.

"I don't think the organization wants to put that in a player's head, that they can give themselves a degenerative brain disease," Levy said. "You don't want your players out there worrying about damaging their brain. That's not talked about."

Levy said players should be better educated about what their symptoms could mean. He told the panel he believes congress should intervene, given what he says is a history of mishandling the issue by the league and its doctors.

One suggestion he offered was prohibiting any contact in practices, like the Canadian Football League has already done.

"I'm in 20 or 30 sub-concussive collisions in practice, whether it's going against my own teammates, going against our offense, hitting a tackling dummy," Levy said. "As a linebacker, I'm taught to hit with my head and my hands. It's just inherently a violent sport, and just to survive and not get injured, you're going to open yourself to some of the risks. So I think right now, we should find ways to limit those risks and cut down on the necessary collisions. I don't think we should be in any collisions other than on Sunday. It makes no sense.

"I went into games on Sundays with my neck and my head aching just because of Wednesday and Thursday."

Levy was also critical of Lions doctors for how freely they gave out painkillers, particularly early in his career, without educating players on the possible side effects. That's a complaint that has been heard across the league about many teams.

"My first few years in the league, I could get Vicodin like Skittles," Levy said. "You can get toradol shots like it was nothing. Any anti-inflammatory painkiller that gets you through the week. As a player, it's on the doctors' hand to control that."

Levy's comments echo similar ones made by Calvin Johnson, who told E:60 that the Lions gave out painkillers "like candy." Johnson also said he played through concussions, even though the team never listed him with one in his career.

Check out the full congressional hearing here.