Brandon McGowan (born September 16, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

. He was signed by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

in 2005. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

Early years

McGowan attended Lincoln High School in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

. He was a defensive first-team All-County selection as a senior.

College career

McGowan was a four-year letterwinner with the

Maine Black Bears The Maine Black Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maine. A member of the America East Conference, the University of Maine sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's ic ...

finishing his college career with 700 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 25 interceptions, 15 forced fumbles, and 15 fumble recoveries. He started 33 of the 34 games he played at Maine and was the team's Defensive Player of the Year and an All-

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Easter ...

selection as a junior in 2003. He was also awarded the "Hammer Award" for being the Black Bears' best special teams player as a freshman in 2001.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

McGowan went undrafted in the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

and signed a three-year deal with the

. McGowan was the only undrafted rookie to make the Bears' roster. During his rookie season, McGowan played in 16 games, starting the final three games of the season, and completed the year with 23 tackles and four special teams tackles. McGowan recorded a career-high eight tackles against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

on December 11. McGowan missed the first seven games of the 2006 season after beginning the year on the team's

Physically Unable to Perform Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

list. He recorded two special teams tackles in his first game back against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

before being placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with an

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

injury the next day. In 2007, McGowan replaced starting safety

Adam Archuleta Adam Jason Archuleta (born November 27, 1977) is a former professional American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Arizona State, and was selected in the first round ...

for most of the season and finished the year with 80 tackles and 2 interceptions. He also had a career-high 10 special teams tackles. However, McGowan lost out on the starting strong safety job to Kevin Payne during the 2008 preseason. On September 17, McGowan was placed on season-ending

with an ankle injury. In March 2009, McGowan became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

, after the Bears planned on using Payne as their starter for next year.

New England Patriots

On May 5, 2009, McGowan signed with the New England Patriots. He began the season as a reserve behind starters Brandon Meriweather and James Sanders; however, before the opener, Belichick praised McGowan: In Week 2, McGowan started over Sanders against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

, and continued to do so until Week 14. He played as a reserve to Sanders in the final four games of the season and the Patriots' playoff loss to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. He finished the season with 79 tackles and three forced fumbles. McGowan was placed on

by the Patriots on September 4, 2010, with a chest injury, ending his season. He was released by the Patriots on August 7, 2011.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Brandon 1983 births Living people Lincoln High School (New Jersey) alumni Players of American football from Jersey City, New Jersey African-American players of American football American football safeties Maine Black Bears football players Chicago Bears players New England Patriots players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people