Brandon Lloyd

Lloyd was drafted in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft with the 124th overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers. In his first game, he blocked a punt against the Chicago Bears on September 7, 2003. On November 2, 2003, he caught his first touchdown pass against the St. Louis Rams. He finished the season with 14 receptions for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns. In 2004, Lloyd started and appeared in 13 games and finished the season with 43 catches for 565 yards and 6 touchdowns. During the 2005 season, Lloyd started 15 games and had 48 receptions 733 yards receiving and had 5 touchdown catches. In Week 3 vs. the Dallas Cowboys, he recorded four catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns, including an 89-yard touchdown catch.

On Saturday March 11, 2006, the San Francisco 49ers traded Lloyd to Washington Redskins in exchange for a third-round draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. His first season in Washington is widely considered a failure, as he caught 23 passes for no touchdowns. According to Howard Bryant of the Washington Post, citing NFL.com, "Lloyd suffered through the worst season for a starting receiver in the Super Bowl era... No starting No. 2 wide receiver in the NFL started more games (12) while producing less (23 catches, 365 yards)."

Lloyd never made it out of Joe Gibbs' doghouse, due to a questionable attitude and alleged poor work ethic. Later, Lloyd admitted as much, that he was in fact disrespectful to the Hall of Fame head coach.[2] On Sunday, November 4, 2007, Lloyd was listed among Redskins inactives as the team traveled to play against the New York Jets. Citing the reason behind the move, Gibbs said that Lloyd had been told to remain behind in Washington as disciplinary action for missing important team meetings. Lloyd would spend the latter part of the 2007 season on injured reserve after having snapped his collar bone while making a diving touchdown catch during team practice.

On February 26, 2008, the Redskins released Lloyd.

On March 7, 2008, Lloyd signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears after the release of Muhsin Muhammad and the loss of Bernard Berrian to free agency. The move reunited him with Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who was Lloyd's head coach at the University of Illinois. Lloyd had a successful start to his career in Chicago, establishing himself as a favorite target of quarterback Kyle Orton, with 15 catches in his first four games. An injury forced him to miss several weeks, and he fell out of favor with the coaching staff as a result.[3] He returned to the field in week 11, though did not approach his early-season productivity until the Bears' final game of the season, where he caught 4 passes from Orton for 64 yards.[4]

Lloyd catching a pass for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov 14, 2010.

Lloyd's contract with the Chicago Bears expired after the end of the 2008 season. In early April, Bears quarterback Kyle Orton was traded to the Denver Broncos in a deal involving Jay Cutler. As the offseason progressed, the Bears did not make any efforts to re-sign Lloyd. Lloyd signed with the Denver Broncos on June 15, 2009. Lloyd re-signed with the Broncos on March 15, 2010.[5]

During the Broncos' 24-20 loss to the Jets on October 17, Lloyd was subjected to a helmet-to-helmet tackle/hit by New York safety Jim Leonhard, resulting in a 15-yard penalty. This hit, along with several other helmet-to-helmet hits during NFL games that weekend, led the league to announce such future 'devastating hits' or 'head shots' will be met with possible suspensions even for first-time offenders, a significant change in league policy, especially during an ongoing season.[6]

He led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,448 yards for the 2010 season.[7] and was named 2nd Team All-Pro and was invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl.

On October 17, 2011, Lloyd was traded to the St. Louis Rams. He would finish the season with a total of 70 catches, 51 with the Rams. The Rams gave up a conditional sixth-round pick that was upgraded to a fifth-round pick because Lloyd ended up having 30 receptions.

On March 17, 2012, Lloyd signed a three-year deal with the New England Patriots for $20 million, with incentives that could escalate it to $26.5 million. This deal reunited Lloyd with Josh McDaniels, his coach in Denver and Offensive Coordinator with the Rams. In Week 4, he scored his first touchdown as a Patriot in arguably the most famous catch of his career. In Week 8, he faced the St. Louis Rams, his former team, in London. He finished the game with 2 receptions, both for touchdowns. He finished the season with 74 catches for 911 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was released by the Patriots on March 16, 2013.[8]

After taking a year off from football, Lloyd signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers on April 15, 2014.[9] In the 2014 season, he would record 14 receptions for 294 yards and one touchdown.

On October 22, 2015, Lloyd announced his retirement from professional football.