Benjamin Alan Braden (born March 9, 1994) is an

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

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

who is a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Early life

Braden was born on March 9, 1994 in Rockford, Michigan."Michigan Wolverines"
Profile. Retrieved November 7, 2024. From an early age, Braden played hockey intending to play professionally as a

goalie In many team sports that involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He admired

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player

Dominik Hasek Dominic, Dominik or Dominick is a male given name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". The most promi ...

. By the time Braden began junior high school, he settled on playing football.Snyder, Mark (November 11, 2015)
"Detroit Free Press: 'U-M offensive lineman Braden learning to dominate'"
Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 7, 2024. Braden played as a tackle with the Rockford Rams, including at starting right tackle during his sophomore and junior seasons in 2010 and 2011. During his senior season in 2012, Braden was named to the AP Michigan all-state first team. The Detroit Free Press named Braden to the Detroit News Blue Chip List. He was rated a three-star recruit by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

. Braden earned three letters during his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. This led to four offers from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

and

."247Sports"
Recruitment Profile. Retrieved November 7, 2024.

College career

Braden committed to Michigan, redshirting the 2012 season. During the 2013 season, Braden earned his first varsity letter despite only appearing in two games as a reserve

offensive lineman 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 (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

. In his junior season in 2014, Braden started in all 12 games, playing as a right tackle. His performance earned him a second letter. During his senior season in 2015, Braden was assigned guard position and started in all 13 games. His senior season saw him earn his third varsity letter. During his final season in 2016, Braden played left guard in four games. He later started 7 games at left tackle, earning All-Big Ten second team honors. He graduated in 2016 with a degree in

general studies North America Some North American universities offer the Bachelor of General Studies degree. England, Wales and Northern Ireland General Studies is a GCSE and former A-level examination offered to 16- to 18-year-olds in England, Wales and North ...

Professional career

New York Jets (first stint)

Braden signed with 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 7, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Jets on January 1, 2018. Braden made the Jets initial 53-man roster in 2018, but was later waived on September 12, 2018, and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 28, 2018. On August 31, 2019, Braden was waived by the Jets and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 10.

Green Bay Packers (first stint)

On September 12, 2019, Braden was signed to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

practice squad. He was released on November 7, 2019.

New York Jets (second stint)

On November 13, 2019, Braden was signed to the New York Jets practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 28, 2019. He was waived on August 3, 2020.

New England Patriots

On August 17, 2020, Braden was signed by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. He was waived on September 5, 2020.

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

Braden was signed to the

practice squad on October 21, 2020. He was promoted to the active roster on October 24. He was waived on October 26, and re-signed to the team's practice squad two days later. He was elevated to the active roster on November 5, December 5, and December 12 for the team's weeks 9, 13, and 14 games against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on January 2, 2021. On August 31, 2021, Packers released Braden as part of their final roster cuts, and he was subsequently signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 28, 2021. He was promoted to the active roster on November 23, 2021 and released on January 10, 2022, following the conclusion of the regular season. He was signed back to the practice squad the next day.

Denver Broncos

On March 14, 2022, Braden signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He was waived/injured on August 15, 2022.

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braden, Ben 1994 births Living people American football offensive guards Denver Broncos players Green Bay Packers players Michigan Wolverines football players New England Patriots players New York Jets players People from Rockford, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan