Brandon Lloyd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Brandon Lloyd with the 49ers. |
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| Chicago Bears — No. 80 | |
| Wide receiver | |
| Date of birth: July 5, 1981 | |
| Place of birth: Kansas City, Missouri | |
| Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | Weight: 200 lb (91 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
|---|---|
| 2003 for the San Francisco 49ers | |
| Career history | |
| College: Illinois | |
| NFL Draft: 2003 / Round: 4 / Pick: 124 | |
Teams:
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| Current status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
Brandon Matthew Lloyd (born July 5, 1981 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Illinois.
Lloyd has also played for the Washington Redskins in his career.
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[edit] Early years
Lloyd attended Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Missouri and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In track he still holds a school record 7'2 high jump. In football, he was a three-time All-Suburban Big Eight honoree, and as a senior, he was also awarded All-Region by the Mo-Kan Magazine and was named an All-State honoree by the St.Louis Post-Dispatch.
[edit] College career
Lloyd attended the University of Illinois beginning in 1999. After a promising freshman season, Lloyd missed all of the 2000 season with a broken femur (it was a non-football related injury - leaving KAM's and incorrectly stepping off a curb). He returned healthy and had outstanding seasons in both 2001 and 2002. Lloyd was a consensus First-Team All-Big Ten performer after his sophomore season in 2001, helping lead the Fighting Illini to a 10-2 record and a BCS berth in the Sugar Bowl. After his junior season in 2002, Lloyd declared his eligibility for the NFL Draft. Lloyd finished his college career having the second-most receiving yards (2,583) and touchdown catches (21) in Illinois history, and ranking third in all-time receptions (160).
[edit] Professional career
[edit] San Francisco 49ers
Lloyd is a track athlete with an excellent vertical leap. He has great body control and can make tough catches. He concentrates and makes plays in traffic. He works the middle of the field well and has some burst off the line and into his cuts. He uses quickness and tenacity to beat the jam. He is quite nifty and elusive with the ball in his hands but is a mediocre blocker. Ever since his rookie year in 2003, he has made many spectacular catches, especially one-handed, but so far has lacked the reliability to be a great wideout. Few have even gone as far as to accuse him of having a tendency to fear getting hit to the point where he often "alligator-armed" balls and would dive to the ground regardless of down and distance. He has received criticism from teammates for caring too much about things other than football. For example, in the year 2005 he had spent time working on a rap album produced by Adam Weisner, of Prophecy Productions (www.prophecyp.com). He also got engaged.
[edit] Washington Redskins
On Saturday March 11, 2006, the San Francisco 49ers traded Lloyd to Washington Redskins in exchange for a third-round draft pick in the 2006 draft and a fourth-rounder in 2007. His first season is widely considered a failure, as he caught 23 passes for no touchdowns. According to Howard Bryant of the Washington Post, citing NFL.com, "Lloyd suffered through the worst season for a starting receiver in the Super Bowl era... No starting No. 2 wide receiver in the NFL started more games (12) while producing less (23 catches, 365 yards)."
On Sunday, November 4, 2007, Lloyd was listed among Redskins inactives as the team traveled to play against the New York Jets. Citing the reason behind the move, Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said that Lloyd had been told to remain behind in Washington as disciplinary action for missing important team meetings. This likely signifies a hastening to the end of Lloyd's stay in Washington. Ironically, Lloyd would spend the latter part of the 2007 season on injured reserve after having snapped his collar bone while making a diving touchdown catch during team practice.
On February 26, 2008, the Redskins released Lloyd, who caught only 2 passes for 14 yards for the 2007 season.
[edit] Chicago Bears
On March 7, 2008, Lloyd signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears after the release of Muhsin Muhammad and the loss of Bernard Berrian to free agency. The move reunites him with Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who was Lloyd's head coach at Illinois.
