Detroit Lions running back Jerome Harrison had surgery Friday after a brain tumor was discovered during a physical for a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles that was nullified because of the condition, the Detroit Free Press reported.  Read more after the jump.
Lions coach Jim Schwartz, who said that Harrison was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list, visited the player at the hospital.
“He was in very good spirits,” Schwartz said, according to the newspaper. “But after that, I don’t know if I want to talk too much. It’s one of those things, it’s a non-football thing, and I’ll just let him take it away from that spot.”
A league source told CSNPhilly.com that Harrison complained of headaches to Eagles team physician Gary Dorshimer during Wednesday’s physical. The doctor ordered an MRI that revealed the tumor.
A number of players told the Free Press that Harrison had complained of headaches, to the point of wearing sunglasses on the sideline until he was fitted with a visor for his helmet.
“Everybody thought it was just a regular headache,” Lions cornerback Chris Houston said, according to the newspaper. “It was much more than that.”
Sources told ESPN on Thursday that the trade and subsequent discovery of the tumor might have saved Harrison’s life. Harrison is not expected to play again this season, but his long-term prognosis both for life and his football career appear to be good, sources said.
“You don’t really think about a brain tumor,” Lions linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba said, according to the Free Press. “You think about maybe a hard hit to the head, migraine, maybe a few days to get back and clear your head up, but you see how serious it can be.”
