Brandon Thompson (born October 19, 1989) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

and was selected by the

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

in the third round of the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

Early life

Thompson attended

Thomasville High School Thomasville High School is a Public school (government funded), public secondary school located in Thomasville, Georgia, Thomasville, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is one of only a handful of city school systems left in the sta ...

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,881 in 2020. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a histor ...

. As a senior, he had 19 sacks and 61

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

. Regarded as a four-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Thompson was listed as the ninth best

prospect of his class.

College career

Thompson was originally

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a freshman in 2008, but had the redshirt taken off after an injury to Jamie Cumbie. He played in the team's final 12 games and recorded 15 tackles and a sack. As a sophomore in 2009, he started all 13 games and had 27 tackles. As a junior in 2010, he had 41 tackles and a sack.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Thompson was selected by the

in the third round, 93rd overall, in the

. In 2013, he played in all 16 regular-season games, starting the last seven games, which included the Wild Card playoff game, where he replaced the injured

Geno Atkins Gene Reynard Atkins Jr. (born March 28, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, and was selected by the Cinc ...

. On March 25, 2016, Thompson signed a one-year contract with the Bengals that will keep him through the 2016 season. He was placed on the Reserve/PUP list to start the season after he suffered a torn ACL in Week 17 of the 2015 season. Since he spent the entire season on reserve, his contract tolled, keeping him under contract for the 2017 season. On August 20, 2017, Thompson was released by the Bengals.

Cleveland Browns

On August 22, 2017, Thompson was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He was released on September 1, 2017, during roster cutdowns.

References

External links

*
Clemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Brandon 1989 births Living people American football defensive tackles Clemson Tigers football players Cincinnati Bengals players Cleveland Browns players Players of American football from Thomasville, Georgia