Daniel Braverman (born September 28, 1993) is an

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 and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He most recently played for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). 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 ...

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

. He was drafted by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in the seventh round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early life

Braverman was born in Miramar, Florida, grew up in

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

, and is Jewish."Be Like Mike: Motivated Bears WR Daniel Braverman has no regrets,"
ESPN."In Jewish faith and talent, Daniel Braverman is a rare NFL prospect,"
''Sports Illustrated''."Driven by past, Bears WR Daniel Braverman works for NFL future,"
''Chicago Sun-Times''. His father, Jamie Braverman, played

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

in 1977 on

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

’s

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

national title team."NFL draft: Western Michigan WR Daniel Braverman considered nice catch,"
''Detroit Free Press''. Braverman played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and ran the 100 meter dash, the 4x100, and the 400 meters in track at

University School of Nova Southeastern University The NSU University School, commonly known as University School or simply U-School, is a fully accredited, independent, college preparatory school in Davie, Florida, that serves grades pre-K through grade 12. The school is located on the Nova Sout ...

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, Florida. He was a two-time all-

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

selection in football. He was among the fastest high school football players in South Florida, running the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 4.47 seconds.

College career

Braverman played

on scholarship for the

Western Michigan Broncos The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball ...

in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

. On September 8, 2012, Braverman scored his first

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

on his first collegiate touch, scoring on a nine-yard run against

Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

. On September 15, Braverman participated on his first career start at

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. On October 27, 2012, Braverman caught a career-high 5 catches against

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...

. Braverman red-shirted the 2013 season, due to a torn right

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

suffered in April of that year. On August 30, 2014, Braverman opened the 2014 season with a career-high 10 catches for a career-high 130 yards against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. In 2014, he was # 1 in the Mid-American Conference in receptions (86), # 4 in punt returns (15), and # 5 in receiving yards (997). During the 2015 regular season, he had 108 receptions for 1,367 yards and 13 touchdowns and # 2 in the

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

in receptions. In 2015, he was the only player in the Football Bowl Subdivision to make over 100 catches, have over 1,350 receiving yards, and have 13 or more touchdowns. In 2015, he was also # 2 in the Mid-American Conference in receiving touchdowns (13), # 3 in receiving yards, and # 5 in yards from scrimmage (1,380). In his three-year Western Michigan college career, he started 27 of 37 games, catching 213 passes for 2,509 yards (11.8 avg.) and 19 touchdowns, and ran 76 yards on 12 rush attempts (6.3 avg.).">"Chicago Bears: Daniel Braverman"
/ref> On special teams, he made 24 punt returns for 109 yards (4.5 avg.) and 15

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to ''return' ...

s for 312 yards (20.8 avg.). He was twice named a ''

Jewish Sports Review ''Jewish Sports Review (JSR)'' is a bi-monthly magazine that was established in 1997. Its editors are Ephraim Moxson and Shel Wallman. The magazine identifies which star and professional athletes are Jewish. It also covers and has all-time lists ...

'' All-American. At the conclusion of his junior season, Braverman declared for the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

College statistics

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Braverman was selected in the seventh round, 230th overall by the

in the

. According to

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

, Braverman averaged more yards-per-route from the slot than any receiver drafted in 2016.

Mel Kiper Jr. Mel Kiper Jr. (; born July 25, 1960) is an analyst covering American football for ESPN. He has appeared on ESPN's annual NFL draft coverage since 1984, providing in-depth information on the nation's potential draft picks. Career Kiper said th ...

of ESPN said: "He kind of reminds you of a (Danny) Amendola, (Julian) Edelman type.... He's quick after the catch, he's aggressive, he's tough, (and) he'll break tackles." On May 9, 2016, Braverman signed a four-year, $2.4 million contract with the Bears with a $79,000

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 ...

. On September 3, he was released by the Bears as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2016. In 2016, he played three games for the Bears. On September 2, 2017, Braverman was waived by the Bears.

Kansas City Chiefs

On January 2, 2018, Braverman was signed to 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 ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs on January 10. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals

On December 4, 2018, Braverman was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

practice squad. He was released on December 20, 2018.

San Antonio Commanders

Braverman was signed to a contract from the rights list of the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF) on April 1, 2019.

Calgary Stampeders

After the AAF suspended football operations, Braverman signed with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

of the

(CFL) on April 17, 2019. He was released before the start of the season on June 9, 2019, and placed on the

practice roster In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was released from the practice roster at the end of the season on November 11, 2019.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Braverman signed with the St. Louis BattleHawks of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

during mini-camp in December 2019. He was 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 ...

on January 8, 2020. He was waived from injured reserve on March 4, 2020.

Toronto Argonauts

Braverman signed with the

of the CFL on January 4, 2021. He played in just four games where he had 15 receptions for 152 yards, 16 punt returns for 63 yards, and 10 kickoff returns for 228 yards. He was released on April 18, 2022.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braverman, Daniel 1993 births Living people Jewish American sportspeople Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida People from Miramar, Florida American football wide receivers Western Michigan Broncos football players Chicago Bears players Kansas City Chiefs players Arizona Cardinals players San Antonio Commanders players Calgary Stampeders players St. Louis BattleHawks players Toronto Argonauts players 21st-century American Jews Players of Canadian football from Florida

Early life

College career

College statistics

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Kansas City Chiefs

Arizona Cardinals

San Antonio Commanders

Calgary Stampeders

St. Louis BattleHawks

Toronto Argonauts

See also

References

External links