Brett Perriman (born October 10, 1965) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
wide receiver in the
NFL for the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
(1988–1990), 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 ...
(1991–1996), the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
(1997), and the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
(1997). 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 the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
.
Collegiate career
Perriman was a wide receiver at the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
under coach
Jimmy Johnson. Perriman finished his 4-year career there with 62 catches for 1,073 yards and 6 TD. He also had 550 punt return yards with 1 TD and a 22-yard kick return in 1985.
His best season was 1986 when he finished with 34 catches, 647 yards receiving, and 4 TD. All second to teammate
Michael Irvin
Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ...
on the year.
NFL career
Perriman is perhaps best known for his time spent in Detroit, as part of a Lions' passing attack that complemented the team's featured running back, Hall of Famer
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), from 1989 to 1998 for the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and ...
. In 1995, Perriman had a career-high 108 receptions for 1,488 yards (fourth highest single-season total in team history). His teammate that year,
Herman Moore
Herman Joseph Moore (born October 20, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers. He was drafted by ...
, had 123 receptions and 1,686 yards (both franchise records, and the 123 receptions were a league record that stood until 2002, when
Marvin Harrison
Marvin Darnell Harrison Sr. (born August 25, 1972) is an American Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver who played 13 seasons for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL), much of it with Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton ...
broke his record), and Moore/Perriman became the first duo in NFL history with more than 100 receptions in the same season. They were also the first duo to post 1,400 yards each in the same season. Brett Perriman was a key contributor on Detroit teams that made the playoffs in 1991, 1993, 1994, and 1995. The 1991 and 1993 teams won the NFC Central Division title. The 1991 team posted a franchise record 12 victories and appeared in the
NFC Championship game
The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
. Perriman currently ranks fourth on Detroit's all-time list with 428 receptions for 5,244 yards. He finished his career with 525 receptions, 6,589 yards, and 30 touchdowns. He also had 180 rushing yards. On Nov. 6, 1994, Perriman became the first player to score 2 two-point conversions in one game, both coming in the 4th quarter.
Perriman was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the ESPN ''
30 for 30
''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...
'' documentary ''
The U
"The U" is a nickname often given to a university. Specifically, it has been used to refer to:
* The University of Miami
** ''The U'' (film), a 2009 documentary about the University of Miami football team.
* The University of Utah
The Univers ...
'', which premiered December 12, 2009 on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
.
Personal life
Perriman has a son,
Breshad, who has been in the NFL for eight seasons.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perriman, Brett
1965 births
Living people
Miami Northwestern Senior High School alumni
American football wide receivers
Miami Hurricanes football players
New Orleans Saints players
Detroit Lions players
Kansas City Chiefs players
Miami Dolphins players
Players of American football from Miami