![]() Britton at Chicago Bears training camp in 2014 | |||||
No. 62, 73 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | October 14, 1987||||
Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||
Weight: | 308 lb (140 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Burroughs (Burbank, California) | ||||
College: | Arizona | ||||
NFL draft: | 2009 / Round: 2 / Pick: 39 | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Player stats at PFR |
Eben Britton (born October 14, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats. Selected 39th overall in the 2009 NFL draft, he spent four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars followed by two with the Chicago Bears, last playing football in 2014. Britton started 23 games at right tackle, seven at left guard, and four as a sixth eligible lineman, for a total of 34 career starts in 60 games played. [1]
Britton attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. As a senior in 2004 he was named Foothill League co-Lineman of the Year and was an All-State second-team selection. [2] Other recognition included Los Angeles Times All-Region San Fernando Valley, Super Prep All-American, and PrepStar All-West honors. [2] Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com , Britton was listed as the No. 16 offensive tackle prospect in the nation. [3]
In addition to playing football, Britton also lettered in basketball and track, setting school records in shot put and discus. [2]
Britton played college football at the University of Arizona, redshirting his first year in 2005. [4] During his first year of athletic competition in 2006, Britton recorded 83 knockdowns and 11 touchdown-resulting blocks while playing at the right tackle position. His blocking consistency grade of 84.5 percent was the second-highest in the Pac-10 and he earned first-team Freshman All-American honors. [2]
In 2007, Britton established himself as one of top pass protectors in college football, earning All-American and All-Pac-10 Conference recognition. He led the nation's right tackles in blocking consistency grading and his 15 touchdown-resulting blocks were tied for most by an active NCAA Division I-A player. [2]
Playing the 2008 season at left tackle, Britton registered 111 knockdowns and 17 touchdown-resulting blocks, leading the conference as well as setting school records in both categories. He was recognized with All-American honorable mention and first-team All-Pac-10 accolades for his efforts. Following the season Britton decided to forego his final year of athletic eligibility and enter the 2009 NFL draft. [2]
In a draft loaded with talented offensive linemen, Britton was considered to be one of the better players available, [5] drawing comparisons to Joe Thomas. [2] He was deemed "not athletic enough to be a consistent pass blocker against the faster pass rushers" at left tackle however, and therefore was projected to "have a long, solid career on the right side". [6] Initially thought of as a potential first-rounder, Britton fell to the second round, where he was selected 39th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Reportedly angry about not being drafted in the first round, Britton said: "I'm gonna work my ass off for the Jacksonville Jaguars and people are gonna regret it. I've got my own agenda, and that's first and foremost to take the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Super Bowl. Secondly, I'm gonna be the greatest offensive tackle to ever play this game." [7]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 309 lb (140 kg) | 32+3⁄4 in (0.83 m) | 10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 5.16 s | 1.80 s | 2.99 s | 4.91 s | 7.87 s | 28.5 in (0.72 m) | 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) | 24 reps | 31 |
All values from NFL Combine [8] [9] |
In an effort to rebuild their offensive line, the Jaguars selected Eugene Monroe and Britton with their first two picks in the 2009 NFL draft. [10] After signing a four-year, $4.6 million deal with the Jaguars on August 1, 2009, [11] Britton entered into a preseason battle with Tony Pashos for the starting right tackle position. [12] After winning out the competition, Britton and Monroe became the first pair of rookie offensive tackles to start together on opening day since the 1982 NFL season. [13] Britton started 15 games on the year, missing only the fourth week due to a knee injury. [14]
Britton remained a starter on the Jaguars offense through the first seven games of the 2010 season. During week 7 against Kansas City his right shoulder popped out multiple times however, eventually requiring three team doctors to pop it back in. [15] The injury was subsequently determined to be a torn labrum, requiring surgery and an end to his season. [16]
Britton missed the entire 2011 preseason and the first game of the regular season after undergoing surgery during training camp to repair a herniated disc. He then played in weeks 2 through 5, splitting time at the left guard and right tackle positions. Prior to the sixth game his back problems worsened however, to the point that he was barely able to walk. The problem was eventually determined to be an infection stemming from the back surgery he underwent earlier in the year. Britton missed the rest of the season recovering. [17] [18]
Starting the 2012 season at left guard, Britton suffered an ankle injury during the season opener and missed the next two games. He lost his starting job after the sixth game of the season and finished the year with 5 starts in 11 games played. [19]
Britton signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears in April 2013. [20] He appeared in 13 games and started four, spending the majority of his playing time as a sixth eligible lineman. [13]
Britton signed another one-year contract with Chicago in April 2014. [21] After missing most of training camp and the preseason with a hamstring injury he was released as part of final roster cuts, only to be re-signed one week later after two of the Bears starting offensive lineman were injured in the season opener. [22] Britton appeared in 10 games for the season but did not start any. He missed five games due to appendix surgery. [23]
In April 2015 the NFL announced that Britton would be suspended four games for an unspecified policy violation. [24] Britton later revealed he had tested positive for Ritalin during the 2014 season, the circumstances of which he explained in an essay penned for The Cauldron. [25] Britton never served the suspension however as he did not sign with any team after his 2014 contract expired.
Britton is an advocate for removing cannabis from the list of banned substances in the NFL. Britton says he used cannabis as a preferred method of pain management during his football career, [15] [26] and has cited the health risks associated with pharmaceutical painkillers as a reason why players should not be punished for choosing a natural alternative. [27] Britton is a member of the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition, a group that advocates for the NFL to change its policy on cannabis. [28] He is also a member of the Doctors for Cannabis Regulation NFL steering committee. [29]
Britton revealed in a September 2016 interview with the New York Post that he used cannabis before three of the NFL games he played in. Britton says that in addition to relieving the pain of his injuries, cannabis also improved his mental concentration on the football field, and that the games he played after using were some of his best performances. Britton also estimated that over 50 percent of current players use cannabis and that the number could be as high as 75 percent. [30]
Britton is a board member of Athletes for Care, [31] a group that advocates for athletes on various issues of health and safety including the use of cannabis as medicine. [32] [33] Through Athletes for Care, Britton co-hosts the Caveman Poet Society podcast along with Nate Jackson. [34] [35]
Britton graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in creative writing. [13] As a writer he has contributed essays to Leafly , [36] Playboy , [37] and The Cauldron. [38]
In April 2012, Britton began hosting a radio show on NPR affiliate WJCT-FM in Jacksonville, Florida. Named Number 73 in reference to his jersey number, it featured a mixture of music and literary material woven together around a central theme that varied with each show. Some of the writings featured were composed by Britton himself. [39] [40]
Britton's maternal grandparents are author Richard Gehman and actress Estelle Parsons, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1967 for her role in Bonnie and Clyde , and who furthermore gained recognition for her role as Bev Harris in popular situation comedy television program Roseanne . [41] His aunt is actress Martha Gehman. He is named after his great-grandfather Eben Parsons, the father of Estelle. Britton's father Jeff is a painter and played college basketball at Jacksonville University. [13] His mother Abbie is a journalist and owns a personal training business. [13]
In 2018, Britton appeared in the Netflix documentary Take Your Pills in which he discusses his use of Adderall to treat ADD and to improve focus while he was in the NFL. [42] In 2019, Britton began co-hosting the Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson podcast. [43]
Anthony George Pashos is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft. He played college football at Illinois.
Zachary Allen Wiegert is an American former professional football player who was a guard and offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was a member of a national championship team. A second-round pick in the 1995 NFL draft, he played professionally for the St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans of the NFL.
Jason Spitz is a former American football center who last played in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2006 NFL draft. He won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Louisville. He was also a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks.
Eugene Yon Chung is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) from 1992 to 1997. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies, earning All-American honors in 1991. He is also a former American football coach.
Herbert Reginald Taylor, II is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Texas Christian.
Eugene Christopher Monroe is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Selected eighth overall in the 2009 NFL draft, he spent the early years of his pro career with the Jacksonville Jaguars until a trade sent him to the Baltimore Ravens during the 2013 regular season. Released by the Ravens in June 2016, Monroe announced his retirement from football one month later at the age of 29, citing concerns over head trauma sustained during his career. Monroe played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers.
D'Anthony Smith is a former American football nose tackle and Super Bowl XLVIII champion with the Seattle Seahawks. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft. He played college football at Louisiana Tech University after receiving a Division I athletic scholarship.
Zane Dae Beadles is an American former professional football player who was a guard for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah Utes and received All-American honors. Beadles was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, and Atlanta Falcons.
Kyle William Love is a former American football nose tackle. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Love also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, and Carolina Panthers. He played college football at Mississippi State.
William Rackley III is a former American football offensive guard. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. He played college football at Lehigh University.
Kelvin Lee Beachum Jr. is an American football offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Southern Methodist University and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL draft. He has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets.
Luke Tobias Joeckel is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars second overall in the 2013 NFL draft. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, starting all 37 games at left tackle from 2010 to 2012. In his final year, he won the Outland Trophy, awarded to the nation's top college football interior lineman, and was named a unanimous All-American. He was also a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
Timothy Lenord Jernigan Jr. is an American former professional football defensive tackle. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at Florida State.
Earl Watford is a former American football guard. He played college football at James Madison, and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft.
Brandon Scherff is an American professional football guard for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, earning unanimous All-American honors. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, where he played for seven seasons and was selected to five Pro Bowls.
Cameron D. Robinson is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama.
Adam Gotsis is an Australian professional American football defensive end. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. He currently plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Colin Kelly is a professional gridiron football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Oregon State. He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He has also been a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars in the National Football League (NFL), the Ottawa Redblacks and Edmonton Elks in the CFL, and the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL.
Rashod Demontary Hill is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Southern Mississippi. He has been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders.
Badara Traore is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)