Tag: Brandon Copeland

52 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 52 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 52 jersey number

The New England Patriots are officially 52 days away from opening their 2023 regular season schedule at home against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. So we’re celebrating the upcoming season with our ongoing countdown series that names every Patriots player that has ever worn a No. 52 jersey.

There have been multiple linebackers throughout franchise history that have cemented their legacy when wearing the number. Players such as Ted Johnson and Johnny Rembert even made All-Decade teams.

The most recent player to wear the number was former Patriots linebacker Harvey Langi. Rookie offensive lineman Jake Andrews also wore it during the spring practices.

Here’s every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 52 throughout franchise history (via Pro Football Reference):

3 Ravens players leave Week 3 vs. Patriots before halftime following injuries, two carted off field

The Ravens had three players leave the game prior to halftime with injuries in Week 3 vs. the Patriots

The Baltimore Ravens were in Foxborough for a Week 3 matchup with the New England Patriots. The team has had multiple health concerns throughout the first few weeks of the 2022 season, and against New England three key contributor left the game with injuries prior to halftime.

Ravens offensive tackle Patrick Mekari was carted off the field with an ankle injury with 9:33 left to play in the first quarter. Mekari could be seen holding his lower left leg. Outside linebacker Justin Houston was also injured, leaving the field with a groin injury and was listed as questionable to return. Not too long after Houston left the field, defensive tackle Michael Pierce was carted off the field and could be seen holding his left arm. Mekari and Pierce were initially ruled as questionable before being ruled out, while Houston wa listed as questionable.

Ravens rookie fourth-round pick offensive tackle Daniel Faalele came in for Mekari. During the first nine quarters of the regular season, Baltimore has used three players at left tackle in Ja’Wuan James, Patrick Mekari and now Faalele. James was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a torn achilles after Week 1. When it comes to outside linebacker, the team is already limited at the position with just Odafe Oweh and Brandon Copeland, aside from Houston, active.

Ravens sign OLB Brandon Copeland to practice squad

The Baltimore Ravens signed outside linebacker Brandon Copeland to their practice squad

The Baltimore Ravens currently don’t have many healthy players at outside linebacker. Only Odafe Oweh and Justin Houston are members of the 53-man roster at the position, but on Wednesday the team added a veteran outside linebacker to their practice squad.

The team announced that they’ve brought in outside linebacker Brandon Copeland, adding him to their practice squad. Copeland has had many NFL stops since entering the league in 2013, and add depth at a position where Baltimore needs any healthy player that they can get after seeing Steven Means go down with a torn achilles in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins.

This will mark Copeland’s second stint in Baltimore, as he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Ravens following the 2013 NFL draft. He’s also spent time with the Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Atlanta Falcons, totaling 158 tackles and seven sacks in his career.

Tuesday takeaways: Falcons sign WR, Jaylinn Hawkins starting

In today’s Falcons recap, the team signs a wide receiver to the practice squad, releases a new depth chart and A.J. Terrell gets some love.

As the NFL navigates its way through the recent COVID-19 outbreak and attempts to conclude Week 15 with a bizarre Tuesday night football matchup, it’s been a mostly quiet day for the Atlanta Falcons.

Sunday’s loss to the 49ers is still eating away at fans, but a potentially shorthanded Lions team comes to Atlanta in Week 16 presenting a chance for the Falcons to get back on track.

In our Tuesday recap, the team signs a wide receiver to the practice squad, releases a new depth chart and A.J. Terrell gets some love from the great Chad Johnson.

Falcons sign S Erik Harris, LB Brandon Copeland to 1-year deals

On Friday, the Falcons announced that linebacker Brandon Copeland and safety Erik Harris have been signed to one-year contracts.

It’s been a slow start to free agency for the Atlanta Falcons, unless you’re a big fan of contract restructuring and salary cap details. Things finally began to pick up on Friday, though, with the team announcing that linebacker Brandon Copeland and safety Erik Harris have been signed to one-year contracts.

The amount of money each deal is worth hasn’t yet been specified, but neither player was going to break the bank. In Copeland, the Falcons get some critical linebacker depth as defensive coordinator Dean Pees is likely run more 3-4 looks than the team has in years past.

Copeland played in 66 career NFL games, recording 119 total tackles (79 solo), seven sacks and 19 QB hits. As mentioned earlier, the former Patriots, Jets and Lions linebacker has experience with Atlanta’s LBs coach, Frank Bush, from his time in New York.

As for Harris, his professional football career began in the Canadian Football League. He spent time with Saints in 2016 before signing with the Raiders, where he started 30 games over the past four years. During his time in Oakland/Las Vegas, Harris accounted for 189 tackles (148 solo), 20 passes defended, five interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.

Atlanta was extremely thin at the safety position after having cut Ricardo Allen a few weeks ago, plus the team isn’t expected to retain Keanu Neal or Damontae Kazee.

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Report: Giants to host LB Brandon Copeland for a visit

The New York Giants will host free agent linebacker Brandon Copeland on a visit this week.

The New York Giants are throwing the clock all the way back to 2017 by visiting free agents face-to-face this offseason.

In the coming days, the Giants are expected to host wide receiver Kenny Golladay, but he won’t be the only one. ESPN’s Michael Rothstein reports that they will also meet with linebacker Brandon Copeland.

Copeland originally signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent out of Penn in 2013. He later spent two seasons with the Tennessee Titans before stints with the Detroit Lions, New York Jets and New England Patriots.

The 29-year-old Copeland has appeared in 66 career games (18 starts), recording 119 tackles (15 for a loss), two forced fumbles, four passes defensed, 19 QB hits and seven sacks.

Copeland (6-foot-3, 263 pounds) had his best season in 2018 as a member of the Jets. That year, he recorded 35 tackles, 14 QB hits and 5.0 sacks. He also earned a career-high Pro Football Focus grade of 67.4.

In October, Copeland suffered a torn pectoral muscle that ended his season and required surgery. Similar to Golladay, the Giants are likely bringing him in for further medical evaluation.

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Patriots LB Brandon Copeland hits 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 list

The Patriots’ linebacker has a bright future ahead.

Brandon Copeland joined the New England Patriots this offseason as a cerebral player who had large goals outside of the NFL.

He’s in his fifth season and unfortunately played only four games this season before getting placed on the injured reserve list with a pectoral ailment. Instead of focusing on the injury and football side of things, Copeland continued to grind on the business side.

After graduating in 2013, Copeland began a non-profit and two real estate companies, along with teaching a course about financial literacy. All of this work off the football field helped him make the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 list this year.

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This is what Forbes said about Copeland.

Copeland is an eight-year NFL veteran linebacker who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Management and Entrepreneurship. He teaches a financial literacy course that he created at his alma mater. Copeland operates two real estate companies and a nonprofit organization, Beyond the Basics, that focuses on youth empowerment.

Copeland is a solid linebacker in the league, but his impact outside of the lines will be much more valuable.

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The moment Brandon Copeland realized he could thrive as a versatile player

“That’s kind of my NFL career in terms of being able to be put in different situations and actually thrive.”

Brandon Copeland was hardly a sure thing to stick in the NFL. He was an undrafted linebacker out of University of Pennsylvania, a school known for its academic prowess and not for its football team.

But Copeland, who signed with the Patriots this offseason, felt his time a Penn set him up to last in the NFL, now that he’s gotten his foot in the door. He is starting his eighth season in the league, and he feels his versatility has been hugely influential in creating staying power. And that versatility — which stems from his ability to learn quickly and expansively — is due to his experience with the academic rigors of an Ivy League school.

There was a moment where Copeland realized just how important his Penn degree and, in turn, his versatility would be.

“In that fourth preseason game, I was sure I was probably going to be cut. I mean, I knew I had to be a camp body, to be quite honest with you. Looking at the linebacker room with Jameel McClain, Josh Bynes and Albert McClellan, who was here, a bunch of other guys. And the fourth preseason game, somebody went down right before and I played outside linebacker in a half, and in that old-school, fourth preseason game, you’re just trying to make it through,” Copeland said. “I had a bunch of tackles. I remember Ted Monachino calling from the sideline, telling me when to go and when to drop because I hadn’t practiced that at all the entire camp, but I did very well. I think I got like seven tackles in a quarter or something like that.

“And it’s funny thinking about it – that’s kind of my NFL career in terms of being able to be put in different situations and actually thrive. There wasn’t a class about this at Penn in terms of, ‘Hey, let’s be thrown into the fire or thrown into water and swim.’ But, being able to pick up information quickly and then use the athletic gifts to make sure that I can show off my talents, as well, has helped me and eight years later has worked out.”

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Brandon Copeland extremely excited to draw Bill Belichick’s interest in free agency

Brandon Copeland seems to have newfound confidence.

Merely signing with the New England Patriots has pumped new confidence into linebacker Brandon Copeland. He has taken pride in telling people he plays for the franchise, largely because of the team’s storied success.

It’s a terrific compliment to draw interest from Bill Belichick, arguably the greatest coach of all time, in free agency. Clearly, Belichick appreciates a player’s talent if he’s willing to sign that player. So Copeland is thrilled to have drawn the Patriots coach’s interest.

“I hope this doesn’t come off as arrogant or anything like that, but it’s like at that point in time, whoever I’m talking to understands that I’m a legit player, right? Just because you wouldn’t make it into this organization unless you were,” Copeland told reporters over a videoconference call on Wednesday.

The experience of joining New England reminded him of his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens, where he played under defensive coordinator Dean Pees, a former Patriots defensive coordinator.

“I remember my rookie year, one of our first defensive meetings,” Copeland said, “there were 26 of us rookies in the meeting and the coordinator at the time, Dean Pees, comes in and says, ‘You don’t even make it in this room unless you are an animal. Unless you are just a legit athlete, defensive player, savage-like on the field, you don’t even make it in this room, so let’s take that out of the equation. Now, what will keep you in this room is your attention to detail, your preparation, all those types of things.’

“So I think it’s eight years later – being an undrafted free agent, at that time I’m wide-eyed and just trying to keep up. Now, eight years later, to come and step into another organization that’s like that, I’m extremely excited.”

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Patriots’ Brandon Copeland leading personal finance webinars for NFL players

The Patriots LB is teaching NFL players how to deal with the coronavirus pandemic through a financial viewpoint.

The New England Patriots’ recently signed linebacker Brandon Copeland is doing his part to make a difference through the coronavirus pandemic.

Copeland decided to use his free time to lead personal finance webinars, starting on Tuesday. In an interview with the Mark Cannizarro of the New York Post, he spoke further about the attempt to increase knowledge across the NFL.

“We should try to look at this as an opportunity to get better,’’ Copeland said. “That may be by auditing ourselves, going through bills, getting things done, finding little pockets of money and coming out of this stronger in terms of having a better investment plan.

“The benefit of having me be the host is they’re talking to a brother when they’re talking to me. You can dwell on the negative of this [crisis] or you can come out of it better, because years from now, some people will talk about having made money or becoming the person they are out of the coronavirus pandemic.’’

Although his goal is to teach NFL players how to manage their finances through the pandemic, he has a broader goal of teaching many people how to handle their money on a regular basis.

“A lot of people rag on athletes who’ve gone broke, but it’s not just players, it’s people,’’ he said. “People see athletes go broke within a few years of retirement. But my neighbors might be doing the same thing, they’re just not in the news.’’

Using this time to be productive is essential and Copeland harps on that.

“That can be estate planning or having a grip on an investment plan or something as simple as reading some books and getting some things done that you always wanted to get done but didn’t have the time,” Copeland said.

The 28-year-old linebacker signed a one-year, $1.05 million deal with New England and will boost a depleted linebacker corps.

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