MOBILE, ALA. - Tim Couch's career wasn't just derailed by tendinitis in 2004.
The former Browns quarterback was diagnosed with fraying in his right rotator cuff, his agent Tom Condon said Wednesday at the Senior Bowl.
Couch, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, was released by the Browns on June 11 and signed with the Green Bay Packers. But Couch performed poorly in training camp with the Packers and was let go in the final cuts.
He spent the season out of football. A two-day tryout with the Chicago Bears in midseason was a huge disappointment when Couch was unable to throw on the second day.
Condon said Couch's rotator cuff didn't require surgery. But Couch went through a rehab program devised by renowned orthopedist James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala.
``He's been throwing for about 10 days and looks fantastic,'' Condon said of Couch. Couch is working out at International Management Group's training facility in Bradenton, Fla.
Couch also has suffered elbow tendinitis since he left Cleveland.
Couch was sacked 166 times in five seasons with the Browns, including a career-high 56 as a rookie. Condon doesn't know if the shoulder and elbow problems are related to the beating he took.
``He got hurt someplace, I assume in Cleveland,'' Condon said.
Free agency begins March 2 and Condon hopes to find Couch a new football home shortly after that.
``Hopefully we'll get him into a good situation and things will turn around for him,'' Condon said.
