Former New England Patriot wide receiver Brandon Lloyd announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday. Lloyd caught 74 passes for 911 yards and four touchdowns with New England in 2012, a season in which the Patriots advanced to the AFC championship game before bowing to eventual Super Bowl champions Baltimore by the score of 28-13.
Lloyd went to the University of Illinois, and in back-to-back seasons he had over 1,000 yards receiving, with 60+ catches and a combined total of 17 touchdowns. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the fourth round of the 2003 draft with the 124th overall selection. He was traded to Washington in 2006, and also played with the Bears, Broncos and Rams before signing with the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent on March 20, 2012.
2010 was Lloyd’s best season as a pro. Lloyd led the NFL with 1,448 yards receiving, and had career highs in receptions (77), touchdowns (11), and yards per catch (18.8). Josh McDaniels was his coach in Denver at that time, and Lloyd reunited with him in 2011 at St. Louis, and then again in 2012 with the Patriots.
The Patriots released Lloyd soon after the 2012 season ended, prior to when a $3,000,000 roster bonus was due. Stories surfaced that the Patriots (as well as five other teams) attempted to sign Lloyd, but reportedly he was “neither physically nor mentally ready to continue“. Although no negative incidents ever surfaced, some speculated that the fact that he bounced around between so many teams (seven stops in his 11-year career) may have meant that he was either not well liked by teammates, or just had a bad attitude. Rather than play football in 2013, Lloyd instead opted to take a minor role in a low budget zombie movie, After Effect.
“I am so thankful for the years I spent in the NFL,” Lloyd said in a statement. “I do not have one regret, and I am blessed to leave the game in such a healthy and happy place. I will do all I can to positively represent the league and its players for the rest of my life.”
Lloyd also specifically mentioned Tom Brady among a half dozen players that “playing alongside … made me a better player and made me a better person.”
Lloyd finishes his NFL career with 399 receptions for 5,989 yards and 36 touchdowns in 142 games. In addition, in two playoff games – both with the Patriots – Lloyd had twelve receptions for 102 yards and one touchdown. The 5,989 receiving yards currently ranks Lloyd 177th all-time in the history of the NFL. In the Patriots’ franchise history Lloyd’s 74 receptions ties him with Brandon LaFell (2014) and Michael Timpson (1994) as the 25th most in a single season, and the 911 receiving yards are the 30th most in club history.
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