Michael Seth Brockers (born December 21, 1990) 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 LSU Tigers. He was considered to be one of the best defensive tackle prospects in 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 ...

, where he was selected by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

in the first round.

Early life

Brockers attended Chávez High School in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, where he was a two-sport athlete playing

and competed 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 ...

. During his junior season, he had 59 tackles and 10 sacks. As a senior, he led Chávez High School to the first round of the Texas Class 5A state playoffs, where they lost 31–26 to Humble. Brockers earned first-team All-region and All-state honors. In track & field, Brockers participated in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and the discus. Brockers was regarded as a four-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'' out of high school, he was rated as the No. 10 strong side defensive end prospect in the nation. He accepted a scholarship offer from LSU over other offers from

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and Texas Tech.

College career

Brockers attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

from 2009 to 2011. After redshirting his initial year at LSU, Brockers saw action in all 13 games of the 2010 season, as backing up Lazarius Levingston at left defensive tackle. He made his first career start against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and picked up four tackles in the win over the Crimson Tide. As a sophomore in 2011, he started all 13 games and was third on the team with 9.5 tackles for a loss. He earned a second-team All-SEC selection by the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

''. On January 12, 2012, Brockers announced that he would forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the

Professional career

St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams

200px, Brockers with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 The

selected Brockers in the first round (14th overall) of the

. Brockers was the first defensive end drafted in 2012. On June 7, 2012, the Rams signed Brockers to a four-year, $9.52 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $5.36 million. On December 9, 2012, against

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, Brockers ended the game with 7 tackles (4 solo), 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. As a rookie in 2012, Brockers played 13 games with 33 tackles, four sacks, one pass defended, and one forced fumble. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. In 2013, Brockers started all 16 games making 46 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. In 2014, Brockers started all 16 games with 32 tackles, two sacks, one pass defended, and one fumble recovery. On April 27, 2015, the Rams picked up the fifth-year option of Brockers's rookie contract. During the 2015 season, Brockers played 16 games making 44 tackles and three sacks. On September 15, 2016, Brockers signed a three-year extension worth $33.125 million and $17 million guaranteed. Brockers finished 2016 by playing 14 games with 19 tackles and 2 passes defended. In 2017, Brockers played all 16 games, finishing with 55 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 4 passes defended. In 2018, Brockers played all 16 games, finishing with 54 tackles and a sack. The Rams reached

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

after defeating both the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in the playoffs. The Rams played 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 Super Bowl, but lost 13–3 as Brockers recorded 7 tackles. During the 2020 offseason, it was reported that Brockers was set to sign a three-year, $30 million contract with 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 ...

; however, the deal fell through due to concerns over his physical. On April 3, 2020, he signed a three-year, $24 million contract to return to the Rams. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on December 31, 2020, and activated on January 8, 2021.

Detroit Lions

On March 17, 2021, the Rams traded Brockers to 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 ...

for a 2023 seventh round pick. He signed a new three-year, $24 million deal with the team. On February 24, 2023, Brockers was released by the Lions. On May 14, 2024, Brockers announced his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

NFL Combine ProfileLSU Tigers bioNFL Draft Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brockers, Michael 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Houston American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends LSU Tigers football players Los Angeles Rams players St. Louis Rams players Detroit Lions players