Lance Briggs
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Lance Marell Briggs (born November 12, 1980) is an American former professional
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 ...
player who was a
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
for 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 ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). 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 ...
for the
Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...
and was selected 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 third round of the
2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
, where he played his entire 12-year career. He was a seven-time
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
selection.


Early years

A
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
native, Briggs attended Elk Grove High School in
Elk Grove, California Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 Census, the population o ...
. While at
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, he was a two-time first-team All-
Pac-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...
selection as a linebacker for the
Arizona Wildcats football The Arizona Wildcats football program represents the University of Arizona (UA) in the sport of American college football. Arizona competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac- ...
team. Briggs finished his college career with 308 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 36 tackles for losses, three
interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
s, 10 passes deflected, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in 33 games at strong side linebacker.


Professional career


Chicago Bears

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 ...
selected Briggs in the third round (68th overall) of the
2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
. Briggs was the 13th linebacker drafted in 2003. On July 25, 2003, the Chicago Bears signed Briggs to a four-year, $2.06 million contract that includes 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 $690,000. Throughout training camp, Briggs competed to be a starting outside linebacker against veteran
Bryan Knight Bryan Knight (born January 22, 1979) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh. Kn ...
. Head coach
Dick Jauron Richard Manuel Jauron (born October 7, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. He played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL), five with the Detroit Lions and three with the Cincinnati Bengals. Jauron served as the he ...
named Briggs a backup outside linebacker to start his rookie season, behind Bryan Knight and
Warrick Holdman Warrick Donte Holdman (born November 22, 1975) is a former American football linebacker. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas A&M. Early years Holdman ...
. He made his professional regular season debut during the Chicago Bears' season-opener at the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and made one solo tackle as they lost 49-7. On October 5, 2003, Briggs earned his first career start and recorded one solo tackle during a 24-21 win against the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
in Week 4. In Week 9, Briggs collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (seven solo) during a 12-10 loss at 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 ...
. On December 7, 2003, Briggs recorded nine combined tackles (seven solo), deflected two passes, and intercepted a pass which he returned for the first touchdown of his career during a 34-21 loss at the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
in Week 13. Briggs made his first career interception off a pass by Packers' quarterback
Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...
and returned it for a 45-yard touchdown during the first quarter. He finished his rookie season in
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
with 78 combined tackles (65 solo), four passes defended, one interception, and one touchdown in 16 games and 13 starts. In 2004, he made 126 tackles and was elected as a second alternate to the
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
. In 2005, Briggs was selected to represent the
National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference ...
in the 2006 Pro Bowl. However, Briggs drew controversy when he refused to attend the Bears' summer camp, resulting in a temporary demotion. He finished the
2006 Chicago Bears season The 2006 season was the Chicago Bears' 87th in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved on their 11–5 record from 2005 and finished with a 13–3 record; the best in the NFC. The Bears retained their NFC North divisional title, and ...
as a clutch performer on the Bears' defense. Briggs was selected to play in the
2007 Pro Bowl The 2007 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2006 season. The game took place on February 10, 2007, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday after the Super B ...
, but opted to decline the invitation because of an injured foot. He became a free agent following the 2007 playoffs, leaving his future with the Bears in the air. Despite Briggs’ high price tag, commentary from
NFL on Fox The ''NFL on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox NFL'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by Fox Sports and televised on the Fox broadcast network. Game coverage is usually preceded by ''Fox NFL Kickoff ...
revealed
Brian Urlacher Brian Urlacher (; born May 25, 1978) is an American former football linebacker who spent his entire 13-season career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, where he bec ...
was willing to take a pay-cut in order to keep Briggs on the team. On February 16, 2007, the Bears officially placed the
franchise tag In the National Football League (NFL), the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has on ...
on him, which guarantees him a one-year contract for the 2007 NFL season at slightly more than $7.2 million. On the morning of March 3, 2007, Briggs was featured on the ''Mike North Morning Show'', and stated he was upset with the amount of money he was currently earning. Briggs later stated he enjoys his teammates, coaches and fans, but was fed up with the organization. He later went on to state he no longer wanted to be a Bear, and demanded a trade. Briggs also made his unhappiness known in a March 2007 interview with a Chicago radio station in which he said "I'll do everything that's within my power to not be with this organization." On March 12, 2007, Briggs announced that he no longer considered himself a member of the Chicago Bears. During a cell phone interview with Foxsports.com Briggs said "I am now prepared to sit out the year if the Bears don't trade me or release me, I've played my last snap for them. I'll never play another down for Chicago again." In explaining his demands, he said "The Bears have shown I'm not in their long-term plans so if that's the case, I don't want to be here." A report from
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
on March 27 claimed that the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
allegedly offered the Bears their first round pick in exchange for Briggs and the Bears' own first round pick. On March 28, Bears
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Jerry Angelo Jerry Angelo (born c. 1949) is a former American football executive who was the general manager for the National Football League's Chicago Bears from 2001 to 2011. Prior to joining the Bears, Angelo spent 14 years overseeing Tampa Bay Buccaneers ...
confirmed that the Redskins have made a trade offer and stated, "We'll evaluate if that's good for us and get back to them". Angelo rejected the offer on April 3, but later stated they were interested in negotiating a deal the following day. The Bears then proposed a trade with the Redskins which included linebacker
Rocky McIntosh Roger A. "Rocky" McIntosh Jr. (born November 15, 1982) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Miami. Early l ...
as well as the Redskins first-round pick in exchange for Briggs. Briggs did not attend the team's first meeting after their
Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...
loss, or their mandatory mini camp session in May 2007. Despite his comments, the Bears re-signed Briggs to a six-year, $36 million contract on March 1, 2008. On September 2, 2011 Briggs and his agent,
Drew Rosenhaus Drew Jordan Rosenhaus (born October 29, 1966) is an American sports agent who represents professional football players. He owns the Miami-based sports agency Rosenhaus Sports, and has negotiated over $7 billion of NFL contracts. Early life an ...
, formally asked the Bears organization for a trade, with three years left on his six-year contract. The request came after Briggs asked the Bears for a raise. Briggs made the 2012 Pro Bowl team, but was unable to play due to an ankle injury. On April 11, 2012, Briggs was given a one-year extension, increasing his contract through 2014. In week 7 of 2013 against the Washington Redskins, Briggs suffered a fracture in his shoulder. He rejoined the Bears in week 16, a 54-11 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
. Briggs recorded 24 tackles and one interception during the
2014 NFL season The 2014 NFL season was the 95th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 49th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on Thursday, September 4, 2014, with the National Football League Kickoff game, annual kickoff ga ...
. After starting the season as the Bears' weak-side linebacker, Briggs was injured during week 5 and missed three games. He commented that his future with the team was in jeopardy, as he was in the final year of his contract. Briggs returned to play four more games, but injured his groin muscle during a week 13 game against 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 ...
. The Bears subsequently placed Briggs on their injury reserve list. He retired on September 2, 2015. Briggs became a free agent but remained unsigned through the offseason. He announced his retirement on September 9.


NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed


Personal life

In August 2007, Briggs crashed his new
Lamborghini Murcielago Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...
into a light pole. He then left the scene of the accident and reported his car stolen. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident. He was also cited for failure to give immediate notice of an accident and improper lane usage. Briggs currently serves as a Bears analyst for
NBC Sports Chicago NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) is an American regional sports network that broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports- ...
's ''Football Aftershow'', working alongside host David Kaplan and former teammate Alex Brown, and former Bears head coach
Dave Wannstedt David Wannstedt (born May 21, 1952) is a former American football coach. He has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was also the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh footbal ...
. Briggs is a lifelong comic book reader and fan. In 2020, alongside Kyle Higgins and Danilo Beyruth, he co-created The Trap, a science fiction original graphic novel, on Kickstarter, which is set to be published in 2021.


References


External links


Official Website

Chicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Lance 1980 births Living people African-American players of American football American football outside linebackers Arizona Wildcats football players Chicago Bears players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Sacramento, California Sportspeople from Elk Grove, California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people