Brooks Reed (born February 28, 1987) 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 wi ...

outside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Early years

Reed was born in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

.ArizonaWildcats.com, 2010 Arizona Football Roster
Brooks Reed
. Retrieved October 27, 2011. He attended Sabino High School in Tucson, where he was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

and defensive lineman for the Sabino Sabercats

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team. He rushed for 350 yards with seven

touchdowns 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 Amer ...

as a junior, earning first-team All-league and honorable mention All-state. As a senior in 2006, he was recognized as a first-team All-state selection and a

SuperPrep ''Super Prep'' is a sports magazine based in Laguna Beach, California, published in since 1985. It was founded and is published by Allen Wallace, a lawyer. Its main focus is to provide recruiting information on high school football players. In 19 ...

high school All-American at running back, and received first-team All-state honors as a defensive lineman from the ''

Tucson Citizen The ''Tucson Citizen'' was a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870, as the ''Arizona Citizen''. When it ceased printing on May 16, 2009, the daily ...

'' after compiling 38

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and three sacks. He also starred in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, posting bests of 11.75 seconds in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

and 24.08 seconds in the 200 meters. After his senior year, Brooks was ranked the 9th best fullback in the country by Yahoo/Rivals Sports.

College career

During his college career at the

, Reed was credited with 87 tackles and 15 sacks. In 2010, Reed was named to the Pac-10 All-Conference squad as a member of the first-team, and was elected Team Captain by his teammates. In 2011, Brooks was awarded the "Tom Hansen" medal, given to the best athlete and student in the then Pac-10. In August 2021, it was announced that Reed will be into the University of Arizona Ring of Honor during the 2021 season.

Professional career

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans selected Reed in the second round (42nd overall pick) in the 2011 NFL Draft. The Texans named him to the starting line-up in the sixth week of his first season, following an injury to starting linebacker

Mario Williams Mario Jerrel Williams (born January 31, 1985) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football for North Carolina State University, and was selected first overall by the Houston Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft. A four-time ...

. In his first start, Reed recorded six tackles.National Football League, Players
Brooks Reed
Retrieved October 27, 2011. In his second game as a starter, Brooks recorded his first NFL quarterback sack against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

on October 23, 2011.

Atlanta Falcons

Reed signed a five-year, $22 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons on March 10, 2015. In the 2016 season, Reed and the Falcons reached

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

, where they faced the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl, Reed had three total tackles as the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat. On September 10, 2017, against the Chicago Bears in the season opener, Reed had two sacks in the 23–17 victory, and one of them was a crucial fourth down sack on the Bears' final drive. He finished the season with 41 combined tackles and four sacks through 16 games and 14 starts. In 2018, Reed played in 16 games with eight starts, recording 24 combined tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble. On February 6, 2019, Reed was released by the Falcons.

Arizona Cardinals

On February 9, 2019, Reed signed a one-year, $1.625 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals. On November 8, 2019, Reed was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

Tennessee Titans

On November 28, 2020, Reed was signed to the

' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 19, December 26, and January 2, 2021, for the team's weeks 15, 16, and 17 games against the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Houston Texans, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was elevated again on January 9, 2021, for the team's wild card playoff game against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

, and reverted to the practice squad again following the game. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 18, 2021.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Brooks 1987 births Living people American football defensive ends American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Arizona Wildcats football players Atlanta Falcons players Houston Texans players Players of American football from Tucson, Arizona Tennessee Titans players