Orlando D. Franklin (born December 16, 1987) is a Jamaican-born 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 ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

who played in 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 ...

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 ...

, and was drafted by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

in the second round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. He also played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

High school career

Born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, Franklin was raised in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

from the age of three. Franklin and his mother later moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

where he played football in high school, attending

Atlantic Community High School Atlantic Community High School (also known as Atlantic and ATL and formerly called Seacrest High School) is a public high school located in Delray Beach, Florida, United States. It is part of the School District of Palm Beach County. Known for ...

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles ...

. At Atlantic Community High School, he was a teammate of Courtney Robinson,

Jayron Hosley Jayron Todd Hosley (born September 18, 1990) is a former American football cornerback who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech. High school career He attended Atlantic ...

, and Preston Parker.

College career

Franklin attended the

from 2007 to 2010. He started 39 of 51 games at both offensive tackle and guard.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Franklin was selected with the 14th pick in the 2nd round, 46th overall, by the

in the

(previously traded by 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 ...

in exchange for

Brandon Marshall Brandon Tyrone Marshall (born March 23, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCF Knights, and was drafted by ...

). As a rookie, Franklin started all 16 games for the Broncos. In 2012, Franklin was a starter for all 16 games of the regular season at right tackle. Franklin started 15 games in 2013. He helped the Broncos reach

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

, only to lose against 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 ...

43–8. He again started all 16 games in 2014.

San Diego Chargers

On March 10, 2015, Franklin agreed to a five-year contract with the

. On May 15, 2017, Franklin was released by the Chargers, after just two years into the five-year deal.

New Orleans Saints

On July 27, 2017, Franklin signed with the

, only to be released just five days later.

Washington Redskins

On October 28, 2017, Franklin was signed by the

. On November 4, 2017, Franklin was released by the Redskins. On January 19, 2018, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Redskins. He was released on May 3, 2018. Two days later, he announced his retirement, citing his health and the inability to see his family, who live in Denver, as the primary reasons.

Post Retirement

Franklin hosts a sports-talk radio program on 104.3 The Fan in Denver. On August 30, 2021 it was announced Franklin would move to a coaching assignment with the San Francisco 49ers and work closely with his father-in-law

Bobby Turner Robert Turner Jr. (born May 6, 1949) is an American football coach who was most recently a Senior offensive assistant for the San Francisco 49ers. Since 1995, he has worked exclusively on the staffs of Mike Shanahan during his time with the Den ...

. After his lone season as a coach, Franklin returned to 104.3 The Fan in June 2022.

References

External links

Los Angeles Chargers bioDenver Broncos bioMiami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Orlando 1987 births Living people American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Black Canadian players of American football Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States Denver Broncos players Gridiron football people from Ontario Jamaican emigrants to Canada Jamaican players of American football Miami Hurricanes football players New Orleans Saints players San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from Delray Beach, Florida Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica Sportspeople from Toronto Washington Redskins players