Alan Branch

Alan Branch

refer to caption

Branch with the New England Patriots in 2015
No. 97 New England Patriots
Position: Defensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1984-12-29) December 29, 1984
Place of birth: Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight: 350 lb (159 kg)
Career information
High school: Albuquerque (NM) Cibola
College: Michigan
NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 2 / Pick: 33
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2016
Tackles: 257
Sacks: 10.0
Forced fumbles: 5
Fumble recoveries: 1
Pass deflections: 13
Player stats at NFL.com

Alan Keith Branch (born December 29, 1984) is an American football defensive tackle for the New England Patriots in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft and has also played for the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football at Michigan.

Early years

Branch attended Cibola High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition to playing on the defensive line, Branch also played tight end as well as running back and punt returner in high school. He scored 3 rushing touchdowns and 2 receiving touchdowns in his senior season and 5 punt return touchdowns for his career.

Branch was a fairly highly regarded recruit coming out of high school, ranked as high as #6 nationally among defensive tackles.

Branch was also a three-year starter on the varsity basketball team, earning all-district honors as a sophomore and was second team all-state as a junior.

Awards

College career

Branch, along with fellow defensive all-star LaMarr Woodley, anchored one of the best defenses in college football in 2006. He had 57 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and nine sacks in 35 career games at Michigan. He had his first interception and a fumble recovery against Ohio State on November 18, 2006. Branch played both defensive tackle and defensive end at Michigan.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Branch was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the 33rd overall pick in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. The Cardinals acquired the pick from the Oakland Raiders.

Seattle Seahawks

Branch in the 2012 preseason with the Seahawks.

The Seattle Seahawks signed Branch to a two-year contract on July 28, 2011.[1]

Buffalo Bills

Branch signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills on April 2, 2013.[2][3]

On December 23, 2013, Branch signed a multi-year contract extension with the Bills.[4]

On August 24, 2014, one day after being arrested for a DUI, Branch was cut from the team.

New England Patriots

On October 21, 2014, it was reported that Branch had signed a 1-year deal with the New England Patriots. The team officially announced the signing on October 29. On February 1, 2015 Branch won his first Super Bowl, defeating his former team the Seattle Seahawks.

Branch re-signed with the Patriots on March 15, 2015, on a two-year deal worth a maximum of $6.6 million.[5]

On November 21, 2016, Branch was notified that he was facing a four game suspension for violating the league's policy on substance abuse but didn't have to serve any games after the league rescinded the suspension before his appeal was even heard.[6][7]

NFL stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2007 ARI 11 9 8 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008 ARI 4 6 5 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009 ARI 16 18 14 4 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2010 ARI 16 35 27 8 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2011 SEA 15 34 21 13 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2012 SEA 16 29 16 13 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2013 BUF 16 39 21 18 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2014 NE 8 13 8 5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2015 NE 16 35 22 13 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Career 118 218 142 76 9.0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11

[8]

Key

References

  1. ↑ Confirmed: Seahawks agree to terms with DT Alan Branch
  2. ↑ DT Alan Branch signs with Buffalo
  3. ↑ Hanzus, Dan (April 2, 2013). "Alan Branch signs one-year contract with Buffalo Bills". NFL.com. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
  4. ↑ DL Alan Branch signs extension with Bills
  5. ↑ Agent: Alan Branch back with Patriots
  6. ↑ Shook, Nick (November 21, 2016). "Patriots' Alan Branch facing four-game suspension". NFL.com.
  7. ↑ Shook, Nick (December 3, 2016). "Patriots' Alan Branch has suspension rescinded". NFL.com.
  8. ↑ "Alan Branch Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 30 December 2014.

External links

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