Michael Anthony Buchanan, Jr. (born January 24, 1991) is a former American football

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was drafted by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the seventh round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. 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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Early years

He attended

Homewood-Flossmoor High School Homewood-Flossmoor High School (H-F) is a comprehensive public high school in Flossmoor, Illinois. The district encompasses nearly 11.5 square miles drawing students from Homewood, Flossmoor, Chicago Heights, Glenwood, Hazel Crest, and Olympia ...

. He was selected to the Champaign News-Gazette All-State team. He was a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com. He also was ranked as the 14th defensive end prospect nationally by Rivals.com. He was ranked as the 59th overall prospect in the Midwest by SuperPrep. He also was ranked as a top-100 defensive end overall prospect by ESPNU. He chose Illinois over

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 ...

and Vanderbilt.

College career

He was selected to the Second-team All-Big Ten in 2011 and 2012 seasons. In his senior season, he was selected to the Illinois Fighting Illini's Outstanding Defensive Player and Defensive Lineman at annual postseason banquet.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Buchanan was drafted in the 7th round (226th overall) by the

of the NFL. The Patriots originally obtained the selection used to draft Buchanan in a trade that sent Aqib Talib to the Patriots. During the two years with the Patriots, Buchanan played in 18 games recording 9 tackles, five quarterback hits, and 2 sacks. On October 6, 2014, Buchanan was placed on Injured reserve for the rest of the 2014 season including the Patriots win over the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in Super Bowl XLIX.

Buffalo Bills

On June 2, 2015, the NFL's

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

announced the signing of defensive end/linebacker Michael Buchanan.http://prod.preview.bills.clubs.nfl.com/news/article-1/Bills-sign-DELB-Michael-Buchanan/a1ed0b41-4793-46b9-835b-2c42d19323e5?campaign=fb_buf_article On August 31, 2015, he was released by the Bills.

BC Lions

On October 13, 2015, Buchanan was signed to the practice roster of the BC Lions 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). On November 10, 2015, he was released by the Lions.

Toronto Argonauts

On July 17, 2016, Buchanan was signed as a free agent by 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 CFL.

Personal life

He is the son of Michael Buchanan Sr., and Lolita Jordan.

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Michael 1991 births Living people African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football American football defensive ends American football linebackers BC Lions players Buffalo Bills players Canadian football defensive linemen Edmonton Elks players Illinois Fighting Illini football players New England Patriots players People from Homewood, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Toronto Argonauts players Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople