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As a rookie with the Chargers in 2014, running back Branden Oliver had an impressive year. He ran for 582 yards, added another 271 yards receiving, and looked like he was on his way to a good NFL career. But it hasn’t worked out that way.

Now playing in the Alliance of American Football, Oliver says that he’s healthy again after a foot injury forced him to miss much of 2015, an Achilles injury forced him to miss all of 2016, and he struggled to recover in 2017 and didn’t play at all in 2018.

“Every doctor I came in contact with told me I shouldn’t be able to play again, because of the way it snapped,” Oliver told the Buffalo News of his Achilles injury. “Even the doctors were saying they never saw it snap like that. It was like a rubber band. You could see it moving in my leg. It’s on YouTube. You see it pop and go up and down a couple times.”

Through two games with the Salt Lake Stallions, Oliver has 99 rushing yards, and he believes he’s a better all-around player than he was at any point in his NFL career.

“I definitely feel like I’m better than I was before just because of the simple fact of the mental aspect of the game,” he said.

The AAF exists to give players like Oliver an opportunity. He’s making the most of it.