Brandon Lloyd

Brandon Matthew Lloyd (born July 5, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Lloyd also played for the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots.

College career
Lloyd attended the University of Illinois, and played for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team beginning in 1999. After a promising freshman season, Lloyd missed all of the 2000 season with a broken femur. He returned healthily and had outstanding seasons in both 2001 and 2002. He 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 2002 Sugar Bowl against LSU.

After his junior season in 2002, Lloyd declared his eligibility for the NFL Draft. Of the seven children in the Lloyd family, he was the only one who started a career without finishing college. According to Brandon, "I saw [my mom] cry was when I told her I wasn't going back to school. She just thought that was the end of everything."

Lloyd finished his college career having the second-most receiving yards (2,835) and touchdown catches (31) in Illinois history, and ranking third in all-time receptions (160).

San Francisco 49ers (first stint)
Lloyd was drafted in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft with the 124th overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers. In his first game, he blocked a punt against the Chicago Bears on September 7, 2003. On November 2, 2003, he caught his first touchdown pass against the St. Louis Rams. He finished the season with 14 receptions for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In 2004, Lloyd started and appeared in 13 games and finished the season with 43 catches for 565 yards and six touchdowns.

During the 2005 season, Lloyd started 15 games and had 48 receptions 733 yards receiving and had five touchdowns. In Week 3against the Dallas Cowboys, he recorded four catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns, including an 89-yard touchdown catch.

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 NFL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. His first season in Washington 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 receivers in the NFL started more games (12) while producing less (23 catches, 365 yards)."

Lloyd never made it out of Joe Gibbs' doghouse, due to a questionable attitude and alleged poor work ethic. Later, Lloyd admitted as much, that he was in fact disrespectful to the Hall of Fame head coach. On Sunday, November 4, 2007, Lloyd was listed among Redskins inactive as the team travelled to play against the New York Jets. Citing the reason behind the move, Gibbs said that Lloyd had been told to remain behind in Washington as disciplinary action for missing important team meetings. 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.

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 reunited him with Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who was Lloyd's head coach at the University of Illinois. Lloyd had a successful start to his career in Chicago, establishing himself as a favourite target of quarterback Kyle Orton, with 15 catches in his first four games. An injury forced him to miss several weeks, and he fell out of favour with the coaching staff as a result. He returned to the field in week 11. He finished the season with 26 receptions for 364 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in 11 games and five starts.

Denver Broncos
Lloyd's contract with the Chicago Bears expired after the end of the 2008 season. In early April, Bears quarterback Kyle Orton was traded to the Denver Broncos in a deal involving Jay Cutler. As the offseason progressed, the Bears did not make any efforts to re-sign Lloyd. Lloyd signed with the Denver Broncos on June 15, 2009. Lloyd re-signed with the Broncos on March 15, 2010.

During the Broncos' 24–20 loss to the Jets on October 17, Lloyd was subjected to a helmet-to-helmet tackle/hit by New York safety Jim Leonhard, resulting in a 15-yard penalty. This hit, along with several other helmet-to-helmet hits during NFL games that weekend, led the league to announce such future 'devastating hits' or 'head shots' will be met with possible suspensions even for first-time offenders, a significant change in league policy, especially during an ongoing season. He led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,448 yards for the 2010 season. He was also named 2nd Team All-Pro and invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl.

St. Louis Rams
On October 17, 2011, Lloyd was traded to the St. Louis Rams. He finished the season with a total of 70 catches, 51 with the Rams. The Rams gave up a conditional sixth-round pick that was upgraded to a fifth-round pick because Lloyd ended up having 30 receptions.

New England Patriots
On March 17, 2012, Lloyd signed a three-year deal with the New England Patriots. This deal reunited Lloyd with Josh McDaniels, his coach in Denver and Offensive Coordinator with the Rams. In Week 4, he scored his first touchdown as a Patriot in arguably the most famous catch of his career. In Week 8, he faced the St. Louis Rams, his former team, in London. He finished the game with two receptions, both for touchdowns, in the 45–7 victory. He finished the season with 74 catches for 911 yards and four touchdowns. He was released by the Patriots on March 16, 2013.

San Francisco 49ers (second stint)
After taking a year off from football, Lloyd signed a one-year deal with the 49ers on April 15, 2014. In the 2014 season, he would record 14 receptions for 294 yards and one touchdown.

Retirement
On October 22, 2015, Lloyd announced his retirement from professional football.

Music career
In addition to his football career, Lloyd has recorded music and attempted to launch a career as a rapper. In 2008 his single "She All Mine" made the Billboard R&B chart, and his song "Heavy" was featured on the Spike TV show Blue Mountain State. His single "Take It To The Hoop" is featured on NBA Ballers 2. Lloyd has received criticism for trying to balance careers in football and rap, but he says that making music is important to expressing who he really is. Quoted in a 2011 article, Lloyd said, "I have the guts to stand out and do something I'm passionate about, go against the grain and go against the conventional wisdom that the athlete-rap thing is unsuccessful. Yet I'm going to do it. People will say: 'Oh, you're doing hip-hop music? Who does he think he is, a rapper? He's trying to be someone he's not.' When in reality, I'd be someone I'm not by not expressing myself in music."

Acting career
Lloyd appeared in the direct-to-DVD film After Effect, alongside Daniel Baldwin. Lloyd had one speaking line, and less than a minute of screen time. The film was available online starting October 28, 2013.