Brandon Stokley
refer to caption
Stokley at Mile High Stadium in 2021
No. 80, 83, 14, 15, 84
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1976-06-23) June 23, 1976
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:194 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Comeaux (Lafayette, Louisiana)
College:Louisiana–Lafayette
NFL Draft:1999 / Round: 4 / Pick: 105
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:397
Receiving yards:5,339
Receiving touchdowns:39
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Brandon Ray Stokley (born June 23, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft.

Stokley also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos, earning two Super Bowl wins during his career. After his playing career, he became a radio personality.

Personal life

His father, Nelson Stokley, played college football at LSU and was the head coach of the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns from 1986 to 1998.[1] Brandon played wide receiver under his father from 1994 to 1997, with Jake Delhomme as quarterback through the 1996 season.

While in college, Stokely met his future wife, Lana, a two-time All-America left fielder in softball who led Southwestern Louisiana to two College World Series. The couple have two sons.[2]

Early years

Stokley attended Comeaux High School (Lafayette, Louisiana) and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, Stokley won All-District 3-A honors, All-Parish honors, All-Acadiana honors, and All-State Class 5-A honors. In basketball, Stokley averaged 14 points a game and won All-District honors. In baseball, he won All-District honors.

College career

Brandon Stokley was a four-year letterman for the Ragin’ Cajun football team from 1995-1998. During his career as a wide receiver, Stokley had three 1,000+ yard seasons and was the first player in NCAA Division I-A to average 100 yards per game over a four-year career.

Stokley is the all-time UL Lafayette leader in passes caught at 241, reception yardage at 3,702 and touchdown receptions with 25.

Professional career

First stint with Baltimore Ravens

Stokley was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana, in the fourth round (105th pick overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft.[3] Stokley won a championship ring in Super Bowl XXXV (2001) as a member of the Ravens. In the game, he caught 3 passes for 52 yards, including the first touchdown of the game—a 38-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.

Indianapolis Colts

In 2003, Stokley signed with the Indianapolis Colts. On December 26, 2004, Stokley received the record-breaking 21-yard touchdown pass for Peyton Manning in the hunt to break Dan Marino's record of 48 touchdown passes in a season. That year, he had a breakout season with 68 passes caught for 1,077 yards and 10 touchdowns and an average of 15.8 yards per catch. Furthermore, the TD catch made the 2004 Colts the first NFL team to have three WRs with 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns or more in a season, the other two being Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison. The next two seasons of Stokley's career were marred by various injuries. After he participated in only four games of the 2006 season, the Colts terminated his contract on March 1, 2007. Stokley earned his second Super Bowl ring after the Colts won Super Bowl XLI (2007) against the Chicago Bears, even though he wasn't able to play in the game due to injury.

First stint with Denver Broncos

On March 14, 2007, Stokley signed with the Denver Broncos. On December 7, 2007, he signed a 3-year extension with the team. In a memorable play from the Broncos' 2009 season opener, Stokley caught a pass intended for teammate Brandon Marshall that was tipped by Cincinnati Bengal Leon Hall, and took it 87 yards into the end zone for the winning score. As he reached the 5-yard line, he abruptly changed direction and ran parallel to the goal line, running an additional six seconds off the clock, only crossing into the end zone once he reached the opposite side of the field. This ensured a win for the Broncos, who were trailing the Cincinnati Bengals 7–6 with 28 seconds left before Stokley's touchdown reception. Stokley attributed the clock-burning run to having done so in video games "probably hundreds of times",[4] and it can be seen in the introduction of Madden NFL 11. With Stokley's touchdown, the final score was 12–7 and the Broncos got their first 2009 regular season win. The play was also memorable for play-by-play commentator Gus Johnson's call.[5] Later that season, in week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles, he was ejected from the game after slapping referee Mike Carey's hand in retaliation for a no pass interference call.

On September 4, 2010, Stokley was released by the Broncos.[6]

Seattle Seahawks

On September 28, 2010, Stokley signed with the Seattle Seahawks. His most notable contribution in Seattle came in the 2010 NFL Playoffs against the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears. In those games, Stokley was the leading receiver for Seattle, catching four passes for 73 yards and a touchdown against New Orleans and 8 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown against Chicago. His performance was one of the keys to the 7-9 Seahawks' surprise upset of the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. He was later cut by the Seahawks after the 2011 lockout ended. During free agency he expressed interest in the Washington Redskins but never signed with them.

New York Giants

On September 15, 2011, Stokley signed with the New York Giants. After catching 1 pass in two games, he was released by the team with an injury settlement on October 4. The Giants went on to win Super Bowl XLVI at the end of the season.

Second stint with Broncos

On April 16, 2012, Stokley agreed to a one-year contract to return to the Denver Broncos, reuniting him with his former quarterback, Peyton Manning. Stokley went on to have one of his most productive seasons in several years, ending the year with 45 receptions, 544 receiving yards, and 5 touchdowns.

Second stint with Ravens

On August 10, 2013, Stokley agreed to terms with the Baltimore Ravens, reuniting him with the team that drafted him in 1999. On August 11, Stokley officially signed a one-year deal with the Ravens.[7][8] On October 5, the Ravens cut Stokley, and on October 8, the Ravens re-signed Stokley.[9] Stokley suffered a concussion in a Week 14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings and was subsequently placed on injured reserve, ending his season.[10] On December 26, Stokley announced his decision to retire from professional football after the season.[11]

NFL career statistics

Year Team GP Receiving Fumbles
RecTgtYdsAvgLngTDFDFumLost
1999BAL 2182828.0281100
2000BAL 7111718416.73221000
2001BAL 16244634414.34621600
2002BAL 8245235714.93521600
2003IND 622322119.63731100
2004IND 16681021,07715.869105311
2005IND 15416754313.24512900
2006IND 48118510.6231300
2007DEN 13407163515.95853400
2008DEN 15498552810.83633500
2009DEN 16193332717.28741500
2010SEA 11314335411.43602300
2011NYG 21377.070000
2012DEN 15455854412.13853000
2013BAL 6132011511.9180800
Total[12]1523976485,37913.5873928411

Radio career

After his playing career ended, he went into sports radio. He co-hosts with Josh Dover weekdays from 11am to 2pm MST on 104.3 The Fan, a radio station in Denver.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "Former La.-Lafayette coach Stokley dies". ESPN. June 6, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  2. ↑ Klis, Mike (September 16, 2007). "The Broncos interviews: Brandon Stokley". Denver Post.
  3. ↑ "1999 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  4. ↑ Suellentrop, Chris (January 25, 2010). "Game Changers: How Videogames Trained a Generation of Athletes". Wired. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ David Fucillo (September 13, 2009). "Let's close out the night with Gus Johnson's call on the Broncos TD to beat Cincinnati". Niners Nation. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Jarvis Green; Stokley cut". Denver Post. September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  7. ↑ Mink, Ryan (August 11, 2013). "Ravens Sign WR Brandon Stokley". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  8. ↑ Ravens Sign Veteran WR Stokley on YouTube
  9. ↑ "News and Notes: Baltimore Ravens Resign Stokley, Cut Bajema; Juszczyk's Role Growing?". Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Brandon Stokley Placed On Injured Reserve". Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Ravens wide receiver Brandon Stokley plans to retire after season".
  12. ↑ "Brandon Stokley". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Where Are They Now? Brandon Stokley on Life Behind the Mic". Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Zach Bye to join Brandon Stokley middays on 104.3 the Fan". March 8, 2017.
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