Robert Porcher III (; born July 30, 1969) 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 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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for 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 ...

of 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 South Carolina State Bulldogs under head coach Willie Jeffries. He was selected by the Lions in the first round of the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

. He was a three-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection.

Professional career

During much of his 13-year playing career, he was one of the league's most productive and feared defensive ends. Porcher played in 187 games—third all-time in Detroit history—and set a team record with 95.5 sacks during his career. He led Detroit in sacks eight times (also a Detroit record). He also became the first Lion to record double-digit sack totals in four consecutive seasons (1996–1999). Porcher earned trips to the

in 1998, 2000 and 2001. He also finished his career with 24 career games notching more than one sack. From 1996 to 2001, Porcher garnered 68 sacks during that six-year period, which was the second-highest in the NFL during that span. His 673 career tackles are ranked seventh in Detroit Lions history.

After football

Off the field, Porcher became actively involved in the community. His foundation for cancer research and relief fund raised thousands of dollars for programs at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Lions annual Man of the Year award is named the "Robert Porcher Man of the Year" in honor of his tremendous contributions to the community, especially in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Porcher is now an entrepreneur, with various business interests, most notably in the transportation industry. He opened 3 businesses in Downtown Detroit: Detroit Breakfast House & Grill, Sweet Georgia Brown, and Seldom Blues. The Businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.

NFL career statistics

External links

Review of Porcher's restaurants

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porcher, Robert 1969 births Living people People from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Sportspeople from Charleston County, South Carolina American football defensive ends South Carolina State University alumni South Carolina State Bulldogs football players Detroit Lions players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Detroit Players of American football from South Carolina