Braylon Edwards facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Braylon Edwards

Edwards with the Jets in 2009
No. 17
Position:	Wide receiver
Personal information
Born:	(1983-02-21) February 21, 1983 (age 41) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school:	Bishop Gallagher (Harper Woods, Michigan)
College:	Michigan (2001–2004)
NFL Draft:	2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Career history
Cleveland Browns (2005) New York Jets (2009) San Francisco 49ers (2011) Seattle Seahawks (2012) New York Jets (2012)
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-Pro (2007) Pro Bowl (2007) Biletnikoff Award (2004) Paul Warfield Trophy (2004) Unanimous All-American (2004) Big Ten Most Valuable Player (2004) Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year (2004) 2× First-team All-Big Ten (2003, 2004) Second-team All-Big Ten (2002)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 359 Receiving yards: 5,522 Receiving touchdowns: 40
Player stats at PFR

Braylon Jamel Edwards (born February 21, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was a unanimous All-American playing college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning the Biletnikoff Award in 2004. He is the all-time leader for the University of Michigan in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He was also the first wide receiver in Big Ten Conference history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and only the third to do so in NCAA Division I-A. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the third overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft. He also played in the NFL for the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.

Early life

Edwards was born in Detroit, Michigan. During his three active high school years at Bishop Gallagher High School, Edwards played a variety of positions for his high school football team, and made 63 receptions for 740 yards and eight touchdowns.

College career

Edwards attended the University of Michigan, following in his father Stan Edwards's footsteps, where he played for coach Lloyd Carr's Michigan Wolverines football team from 2001 to 2004. During his senior season in 2004, he set Michigan season records for receptions (97) and receiving yards (1,330), and career records with 252 receptions, 3,541 yards, and 39 touchdowns, a Big Ten record. Edwards also set the Michigan career record for the most games with 100 or more receiving yards (17). During the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Jeremy Gallon eclipsed Edwards' school single-season receiving yardage record with a total of 1373.

Edwards at 2005 Rose Bowl

Following his senior season, he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's top receiver, was awarded the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten Conference's most valuable player, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.

Edwards is the only wide receiver in Big Ten history and the third in NCAA Division I-A annals to gain 1,000 or more receiving yards in three consecutive years. Edwards concluded his college career by recording three touchdown catches in the 2005 Rose Bowl against the Texas Longhorns, tying the Rose Bowl record. Edwards also fell just short of eclipsing Jack Clancy's 10-game single-season records of 76 receptions and 1,077 yards by recording 76 and 1,049 in his first 10 in 2004.

College statistics

Track and field

Braylon Edwards also ran track and field at Michigan. His indoor 200 meter time of 21.81 seconds was the third fastest in school history at that time. Edwards also ran the 60-meter dash and the 100-meter dash. He placed third in the high jump at the 2003 Meyo Invitational, with a personal-best leap of 2.11 meters.

Personal bests

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Edwards in Browns 2008 training camp.

Edwards was selected in the first round (third overall) in the 2005 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.

Edwards began his rookie season as Cleveland's third wide receiver – a hold-out caused him to miss the beginning of training camp. Early in the season Edwards revealed that he had a staph infection, and missed a few weeks as a result of it. He moved into the starting lineup by midseason. He made his NFL debut versus the Cincinnati Bengals on September 11 and caught his first NFL touchdown at the Green Bay Packers on September 18. He amassed 512 receiving yards and three touchdowns before suffering a season ending knee injury. Edwards had surgery in the offseason, and, while rehabilitating, bonded with Kellen Winslow II. Both were determined to make a full and speedy recovery.

Edwards, like Winslow, had a successful rehabilitation that enabled him to be ready to play in the team's opening game in 2006. Edwards became the top receiver for the Browns after an injury to Joe Jurevicius that season. Edwards totaled 61 receptions for 884 yards and six touchdowns on the season. At the end of the season, Edwards announced he would give $500,000 to the University of Michigan for a scholarship endowment for football players. Edwards also had an altercation with Charlie Frye on the sidelines of a game in 2006. He said "and they're talking about video games." Edwards continued to make headlines that season when he called out Mike Minter, Chris Gamble, Ricky Manning and other defensive backs of the Carolina Panthers. Additionally, he attended the annual Michigan-Ohio State rivalry game after being advised not to go by several veteran captains. Edwards was late getting back from Columbus and was late to a team meeting.

Edwards had a breakout season in 2007 and made his first Pro Bowl, becoming the first Browns receiver to make the Pro Bowl since Webster Slaughter in 1989. Edwards broke franchise records for receiving yardage with 1,289 receiving yards compared to Slaughter's record of 1,236 in 1989 and receiving touchdowns with 16 compared to Gary Collins's 13 in 1963. Edwards' 16 touchdowns was also second in the league behind only Randy Moss who set an NFL record with 23 touchdowns.

Edwards publicly made a bet with Michael Phelps that he would catch 17 touchdowns in 2008. However, Edwards and the Browns struggled during the entire year. The Browns finished at 4–12, and Braylon led the NFL in dropped passes with 23. He caught only three touchdown passes.

New York Jets (first stint)

Edwards celebrating a touchdown with teammate Damien Woody

On October 7, 2009, Edwards was traded to the New York Jets for wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik and a third and fifth round draft pick in the 2010 NFL draft. Edwards cited a need for a "fresh start" following the deal's completion. In 12 games for New York, Braylon had 35 catches for 541 yards and four touchdowns. Braylon had his first taste of the postseason in the 2009–10 NFL playoffs. In the Jets first two games, Braylon only had 4 catches for 56 yards but in the AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts, Braylon caught an 80-yard touchdown pass to give the Jets their first points of the game. He finished the game with 2 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown as the Jets lost 30–17.

Edwards remained with the New York Jets in 2010, catching 53 passes for 904 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Edwards visiting Marines in 2009.

San Francisco 49ers

On August 4, 2011, Edwards signed a one-year contract worth $1 million with the San Francisco 49ers. The contract would have increased to $3.5 million had Edwards recorded a 90-yard-catch or Pro Bowl season. He started five games and was waived by the 49ers on December 27 without having achieved either incentive.

Seattle Seahawks

On July 31, 2012, Edwards signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks. On December 4, 2012, he was waived by the Seahawks.

New York Jets (second stint)

Edwards was claimed off waivers by the Jets on December 11, 2012. On July 25, 2013, Edwards signed a one-year deal with the Jets for the 2013 season. He was waived on August 26, 2013.

NFL career statistics

Philanthropy

In 2007, Edwards pledged to 100 Cleveland high school students that, if they maintained grade point averages at 2.5 or higher and performed 15 hours of community service, he would pay for their college tuition, an offer valued at $1 million. On May 25, 2011, it was widely reported that Edwards announced he was keeping his pledge.

The scholarships are worth $10,000 each and fulfill a promise Edwards made to 100 eighth-graders in the Cleveland area in 2007 as long as they continued to meet the academic and community service requirements. According to published reports, Edwards actually selected 101 students. In an interview Edwards said: 101 Scholarships at $10,000 each is $1.01M.

The pledge was through a program called the "ADVANCE 100 Program", an educational initiative established by the Braylon Edwards Foundation in May 2007.

Television football analyst

Edwards started working for the Big 10 Television Network in the summer of 2017. ..... Edwards had a longstanding feud with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh which intensified after the Notre Dame game at the beginning of the 2018 season.

Edwards is, as of 2022, working with Woodward Sports Network.

See also

• Lists of Michigan Wolverines football receiving leaders