Brandon Dennard Pettigrew (born February 23, 1985) is a former American football tight end. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Oklahoma State. He was drafted in the first round (20th overall) of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

by 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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, and spent his entire 8-year career with the team.

High school career

Brandon Pettigrew played high school football at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas, where he was teammates with

Matt Flynn Matthew Clayton Flynn (born June 20, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He was a member of the Packers when they won Super Bowl XLV over the Pitts ...

Justin Warren Justin Keith Warren (born April 10, 1985) is an American football a former arena football defensive lineman. He was signed on May 8, 2007 as an undrafted rookie free agent from Texas A&M University, but waived on May 15. In 2009, Warren played f ...

, and Ciron Black. While at Robert E. Lee, Pettigrew played as a tight end and on

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, he was named All-District and All-East Texas. He was also one of three players to be named to the All-State team. He chose to attend Oklahoma State University over Texas A&M, Texas Christian University (TCU), Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Arkansas.

College career

Pettigrew played college football at Oklahoma State where he majored in economics. As a freshman in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, he appeared in 11 games (nine starts). He recorded 11 receptions for 128 yards and one touchdown. In

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, as a sophomore, he started all 13 games. He recorded 24 receptions for 310 yards and four touchdowns and was an All- Big 12 honorable mention. As a junior in

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, he started all 13 games. He recorded 35 receptions for 540 yards and four touchdowns. He was named First-team All-Big 12 Football at Tight End in 2007. As a senior in

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, he recorded 42 receptions for 472 yards. During his career he recorded 112 receptions for 1,450 yards and nine touchdowns.

Career statistics

Professional career

Pettigrew was selected in the first round (20th overall) of the

by the

. The pick used to select Pettigrew was originally acquired by the Lions in a trade that sent Roy Williams to the Dallas Cowboys. On July 31, 2009, the Detroit Lions signed him to a five-year, $14.60 million contract with $9.4 million guaranteed and 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 $5.09 million. The best game of his rookie season came on November 22 against the Cleveland Browns: he caught six passes for 72 yards, including the game-winning touchdown. Pettigrew suffered a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury during the opening drive of the Lions' annual Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit. The next day, an MRI revealed he would require season-ending surgery. On December 1, 2009, Pettigrew was officially placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

and missed the rest of the 2009 season. He finished the season with 30 receptions for 346 yards and two touchdowns. In

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, he recorded 71 receptions for 722 yards and four touchdowns. His 71 receptions and 722 receiving yards were both third best among tight ends. For the

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season, he recorded 83 receptions for 777 yards and five touchdowns -- the most yards by a Lions Tight End in any season. He also holds the Detroit Lions franchise record for a TIght End, with 83 receptions in 2011. In

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, he recorded 59 receptions for 567 yards and three touchdowns. For the

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season, he recorded 41 receptions for 416 yards and two touchdowns. On March 14, 2014, the Lions signed Pettigrew to a four-year, $12 million free-agent contract with $8 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $4 million. For the

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season, he recorded 10 receptions for 70 yards. In a December 13, 2015, game against the St. Louis Rams, Pettigrew suffered a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 15. For the

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season, he recorded seven receptions for 67 yards and one touchdown. Pettigrew started out the 2016 on the

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list to recover from his torn ACL the previous season. He was moved to the reserve/non-football injury list on December 6, 2016. Days later the Lions cleared out his locker, indicating that the team could be moving on without him. He was officially released by the Lions on December 9, 2016.

Career statistics

Personal life

Pettigrew was arrested for disorderly conduct and public drunkenness on February 5, 2017, after a Dallas, Texas bar fight. Pettigrew was arrested on July 9, 2018, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, accused of aggravated assault after an argument arose regarding an unpaid limo fee. In November 2018, charges of aggravated assault and diversion of services were withdrawn.

References

https://big12sports.com/news/2007/11/27/1522092.aspx

External links

Detroit Lions bio

Oklahoma State Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettigrew, Brandon 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Tyler, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football tight ends Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Detroit Lions players