Former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Malik McDowell has been adamant that he is still able to play football following an injury he suffered in 2017. However, according to some reports, it’s extremely unlikely that McDowell will ever be medically cleared to try and continue his NFL career.

In a new report on McDowell from The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar, it’s noted that while the former NFL player continues to claim he has been cleared to play football, most teams don’t believe it.

But teams are wary of what they fear could be dire consequences if McDowell ever played again. He has kept himself in shape and visited with other teams, but it is extremely doubtful he will ever be medically cleared to continue his football career.

Speaking to Dugar, a source in the NFL specifically noted that teams that McDowell’s camp had gone silent on things, and when people did see him, they didn’t think he would ever play again. Still, McDowell is claiming that Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, a sports neurologist, has cleared him to play, and that the Seahawks had seemingly other motives for not allowing him to do so after the injury.

After being drafted by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, McDowell suffered an accident driving an ATV before training camp. After the accident, the Seahawks doctors never cleared the young player to participate in football activities, and he spent his entire career on the non-football injury list before being released.

After being released, McDowell was ordered to repay $800,000 of his $1.6 million signing bonus, but it remains to be seen if he has done so. As of now, the Seahawks continue to try and recoup their money by any means, and McDowell continues to try and stage an NFL comeback by any means.