It wasn't just exhaustion but pain that was bothering him. The long-talked about sickle cell issues figured into the equation. But then, Brown said, they found a cyst on his spine after the final game of the season. Once the cyst was taken care of, "I was back to normal," he said.

"I most definitely feel confident," Brown said of the upcoming season. "Since they found out the situation, my body has been feeling better. I am doing the usual, which I couldn't do when I was going through this process."

In 2015, Brown had 65 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Last season, those numbers plummeted to 39-517-2 – and that included a 10-catch, 144-yard game against the Rams in October. On top of everything else, Brown missed most of training camp with a concussion.

"The players and coaches, when they needed me, I couldn't do things," Brown said. "When you look on the film, I'm not running past nobody. I'm not doing the usual. Look at the film, seeing those type of things, that's not me. But now I feel good, knowing that's not me, knowing I have bigger and better things coming."

Brown smiles as he talks, in much better spirits than he was much of last season. The Cardinals share the optimism – "Knock on wood we get the John Brown back that we know," coach Bruce Arians said earlier this offseason – but there are milestones to reach: Playing with equipment on, practicing in the heat, extended work in general.