Brooks Reed (born February 28, 1987) 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

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

and was selected by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft.

Early life

Reed was born in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

.ArizonaWildcats.com, 2010 Arizona Football Roster
Brooks Reed
. Retrieved October 27, 2011. He attended Sabino High School in Tucson, where he was a

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and

defensive 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 (D ...

for the Sabino Sabercats

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team. He rushed for 350 yards with seven touchdowns as a junior, earning first-team All-league and honorable mention All-state. As a senior in 2006, he was recognized as a first-team All-state selection and a SuperPrep high school

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

at running back, and received first-team All-state honors as a defensive lineman from the '' Tucson Citizen'' after compiling 38 tackles and three sacks. He also starred in

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, posting bests of 11.75 seconds in the 100 meters and 24.08 seconds in the 200 meters. After his senior year, Brooks was ranked the 9th best fullback in the country by Yahoo/Rivals Sports.

College career

During his college career at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, Reed was credited with 87 tackles and 15 sacks. In 2010, Reed was named to the Pac-10 All-Conference squad as a member of the first-team, and was elected team captain by his teammates. In 2011, Brooks was awarded the "Tom Hansen" medal, given to the best athlete and student in the then Pac-10. In August 2021, it was announced that Reed will be into the University of Arizona Ring of Honor during the 2021 season.

Professional career

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans selected Reed in the second round (42nd overall pick) in the 2011 NFL draft. The Texans named him to the starting line-up in the sixth week of his first season, following an injury to starting linebacker Mario Williams. In his first start, Reed recorded six tackles.National Football League, Players
Brooks Reed
Retrieved October 27, 2011. In his second game as a starter, Brooks recorded his first NFL quarterback sack against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

on October 23, 2011.

Atlanta Falcons

Reed signed a five-year, $22 million contract with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

on March 10, 2015. In the 2016 season, Reed and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced 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 ...

. In the

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, Reed had three total tackles as the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat. On September 10, 2017, against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the season opener, Reed had two sacks in the 23–17 victory, and one of them was a crucial fourth down sack on the Bears' final drive. He finished the season with 41 combined tackles and four sacks through 16 games and 14 starts. In 2018, Reed played in 16 games with eight starts, recording 24 combined tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble. On February 6, 2019, Reed was released by the Falcons.

Arizona Cardinals

On February 9, 2019, Reed signed a one-year, $1.625 million contract with 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. The ...

. On November 8, 2019, Reed was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

Tennessee Titans

On November 28, 2020, Reed was signed to the

' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 19, December 26, and January 2, 2021, for the team's weeks 15, 16, and 17 games against the

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 ...

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 ...

, and

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was elevated again on January 9, 2021, for the team's wild card playoff game against the

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

, and reverted to the practice squad again following the game. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 18, 2021.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Brooks 1987 births Living people American football defensive ends American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Arizona Wildcats football players Atlanta Falcons players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Players of American football from Tucson, Arizona Tennessee Titans players