Alan Keith Branch (born December 29, 1984) 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 wit ...

defensive tackle. He was drafted by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...

in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft and has also played for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

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

, and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. He played college football at

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Early years

Branch attended Cibola High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition to playing on the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, Branch also played

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

as well as

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. The ...

and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. He scored three rushing

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

and two receiving touchdowns in his senior season and five 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.

High school awards

*Selected to play in 2004

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

*Gatorade Player of the Year in New Mexico *All-State as a junior and senior * On May 3, 2017, Branch was inducted to the Cibola High School Hall of Fame

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 Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

at Michigan. He earned the following accolades while at Michigan: *2006 ESPN.com All-American Team *2006 All-Big Ten Conference First-team (coaches and media)

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Branch was drafted by the

with the 33rd overall pick in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. The Cardinals acquired the pick from the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

. In the

2008 NFL season The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now." Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, 2009, ...

, the Cardinals reached

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) cham ...

, but lost 27-23 to 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 Stee ...

Seattle Seahawks

The

signed Branch to a two-year contract on July 28, 2011.

Buffalo Bills

Branch signed a one-year contract with the

on April 2, 2013. On December 23, 2013, Branch signed a multi-year contract extension with the Bills. 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

. 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, by a score of 28–24. On March 15, 2015, Branch re-signed with the Patriots on a two-year deal worth a maximum of $6.6 million. 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 did not have to serve any games after the league rescinded the suspension before his appeal was even heard. Branch helped the Patriots win 14 games and earn the top seed for the AFC playoffs. On February 5, 2017, Branch was part of the Patriots team that won

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Ne ...

. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime. The Patriots trailed 28–3 in the third quarter, but rallied all the way back to win the game, which featured the first overtime game in Super Bowl history and the largest comeback in the Super Bowl. Branch recorded three tackles, 0.5 sacks, and a crucial fumble recovery in the game. On March 9, 2017, Branch signed a two-year, $12 million contract extension with the Patriots. Branch played 12 games in the 2017 season and recorded 12 tackles. Branch was inactive for the playoffs, but the Patriots still made it to the Super Bowl without him only to fall to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Confere ...

. On March 6, 2018, the Patriots declined the option on Branch's contract, making him a free agent in 2018.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

New England Patriots bioBuffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Alan 1984 births Living people People from Rio Rancho, New Mexico Players of American football from Albuquerque, New Mexico African-American players of American football American football defensive tackles Michigan Wolverines football players Arizona Cardinals players Seattle Seahawks players Buffalo Bills players New England Patriots players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people