Carl Bradford

Carl Thomas Bradford (born August 15, 1992) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Arizona State, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, and Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL; the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL; the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF; and the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.

Carl Bradford
Bradford with the Green Bay Packers in 2015
Free agent
Position:Inside linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1992-08-15) August 15, 1992
Anaheim, California
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school:Norco (CA)
College:Arizona State
NFL Draft:2014 / Round: 4 / Pick: 121
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:5
Sacks:0.0
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:0
Interceptions:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Bradford attended Norco High School in Norco, California. While there, he was coached by Todd Gerhart, father of 2009 Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart. Bradford played fullback at Norco as a junior and linebacker as a senior. During his senior year, he had 136 carries for 884 yards, averaging 6.5 per carry with 14 touchdowns. Additionally, he averaged 35.3 yards per reception and had four games with over 100 rushing yards. The best game of his high school career came against Corona High School, in which he had 136 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and caught two touchdown passes. He was named to the All-West-Legion list by Prepstar.[1]

Coming out of high school, Bradford was measured at six-foot-one inches and weighed 220 pounds.[2] He was given a three-star ranking from Rivals.com and was ranked as the 16th best linebacker in the state of California, and ranked 61st overall. He received athletic scholarship offers from Arizona State and San Diego State, while also receiving interest from California, Tennessee, UCLA, and Washington.

College career

Bradford decided to sign his letter of intent with Arizona State University and received a redshirt designation his first year on campus. Even so, he earned Hard Hat Player designation for his work in the off-season strength and conditioning program.[1]

During his first year on the field as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford played on special teams and alternated on defense between linebacker and defensive end. He played in all 13 games.[1] During a game against Arizona, he recorded a sack against quarterback Nick Foles and three-and-a-half tackles for loss.[3] Later in the season, he recorded his first start in the MAACO Bowl against Boise State, who was ranked sixth in the nation at the time.[1]

The next year, Bradford started every game of the season. He recorded his first career interception in a 17-38 loss against USC. He also had ten tackles and a fumble recovery.[4] He added two more sacks against UCLA.[1] He finished the season with 81 tackles, the fourth most on the team, and was named as an honorable mention on the All-Pac-12 team.[5] Additionally, 58 of his tackles were solo and 20.5 of them were for a loss. He also had five pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.[1]

In his final year as a Sun Devil, Bradford was named to the preseason watchlists for the Bednarik, Lombardi, and Butkus awards.[6][7] He started all 14 games of the season. Bradford had a career-best four tackles for loss against Arizona, and later in the season returned an interception for a touchdown against UCLA. During a Halloween game against Washington State, he had arguably the best game of his college career when he had one sack, two forced fumbles, three hurries, and blocked a punt. Bradford's efforts earned him first-team All-Pac-12 honors by Phil Steele.[8] Additionally, he earned second team by Athlon Sports.[9] He finished the season with 61 tackles, 19 for loss, and 8.5 sacks, all of which were the most on the team.

Having earned his bachelor's degree in criminology and criminal justice, Bradford announced on January 13, 2014, he would forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2014 NFL Draft. Head coach Todd Graham released a statement saying it was an honor to coach Bradford and wished him the best in his future endeavors. Bradford's official draft grade was not released, but one source revealed that scouts told him he would be a third-round pick.[10]

Statistics

Source: TheSunDevils.com

YearTeamGGSTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
TotalSoloAstSckSFTYPDefIntYdsAvgLngTDsFFFR
2011ASU 13112751.500000.00000
2012ASU 131381582311.505100.00032
2013ASU 14146145168.50511818.018130
Total40281541104421.50102189.018162

Professional career

Scouts commented that Bradford played "with urgency" and was quick to the ball. They also commented that he flashed playmaking ability and was an explosive tackler with great hands. They stated that he had great instincts and the athleticism to drop back in coverage. He also had good leaping ability. Additionally, scouts discussed he had a short frame and got caught up on blocks. They also commented that Bradford got locked down by large blockers when they get hands on him. He was criticized for his lack of pass-rushing moves. Overall, he was believed to be an undersized college defensive end who would be an outside linebacker in a 3–4 defense. Bradford was believed to be best used on an aggressive pass rushing team.[11]

External video
Bradford's NFL Combine workout
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m)		 250 lb
(113 kg)		 30 1⁄4 in
(0.77 m)		 9 1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		 4.76 s 1.66 s 2.78 s 4.30 s 7.25 s 37.5 in
(0.95 m)		 10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		 23 reps 14[12]
All values are from NFL Combine[11][13]

Green Bay Packers

Bradford was selected in the fourth round (121st overall) by the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 NFL Draft.[14] He believed he would be drafted in the second round. He stated he's "always been a sleeper..." and would do what he needed to do to get noticed. Bradford listed his biggest challenge as learning to drop back into coverage. He stated when he first got to Green Bay, his head "was spinning" and that the way the Packers played was like a "foreign language" to him.[15] On May 16, 2014, he signed a contract with the Packers.[16] In his rookie season, Bradford was inactive for every game.[17]

He was released by the Packers during final team cuts on September 5, 2015.[18] On September 7, 2015, Bradford was signed to the Packers' practice squad,[19] where he spent the entirety of his second season. He was re-signed by the Packers after the season ended on January 18, 2016.[20]

For the second straight season, Bradford was released by the Packers during final roster cuts.[21] He was signed to the Packers' practice squad two days later.[22] On November 19, 2016, Bradford was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster.[23] He was released on December 17, 2016.[24]

San Francisco 49ers

Bradford was claimed off waivers by the 49ers on December 19, 2016.[25]

On February 27, 2017, Bradford signed a one-year tender with the 49ers.[26] On May 2, 2017, Bradford was waived by the 49ers.[27]

Buffalo Bills

On May 9, 2017, Bradford signed with the Buffalo Bills.[28] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[29]

Chicago Bears

On October 11, 2017, Bradford was signed to the Chicago Bears' practice squad.[30] He was released on October 28, 2017.

Cincinnati Bengals

On December 6, 2017, Bradford was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad.[31] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bengals on January 1, 2018.[32] He was waived by the Bengals on April 30, 2018.[33]

Arizona Hotshots

On September 14, 2018, Bradford was revealed as a new signing for the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football for the 2019 season.[34] The league ceased operations in April 2019.[35]

Houston Roughnecks

In October 2019, Bradford was picked up by the Houston Roughnecks in the open phase of the 2020 XFL Draft.[36] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[37]

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References
  1. "Arizona State Sun Devils: Carl Bradford". TheSunDevils.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  2. "Rivals: Carl Bradford". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  3. "Arizona vs. Arizona State - Play-By-Play". ESPN.com. November 19, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  4. "Arizona State vs. USC - Box Score". ESPN.com. November 10, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  5. "Pac-12 football awards and all-conference team announced". Pac-12.com. November 26, 2012. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  6. Marotta, Vince (July 8, 2013). "ASU's Will Sutton, Carl Bradford on Bednarik Award Watch List". ArizonaSports.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  7. "ASU Football's Sutton earns Walter Camp preseason recognition". RaycomGroup.com. July 19, 2013. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  8. "Phil Steele's 2013 postseason All-Pac-12 team". PhilSteele.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  9. Gall, Braden (December 11, 2013). "Pac-12 2013 Season Awards and All-Conference Team". AthlonSports.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  10. Lockman, Tyler (January 13, 2014). "ASU linebacker Bradford declares for NFL Draft". FoxSports.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  11. "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Carl Bradford". NFL.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  12. "2014 Green Bay Packers draft picks". JSOnline.com. May 10, 2014. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  13. "Carl Bradford - Arizona State, OLB : 2014 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  14. "Carl Bradford Draft Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  15. Dunne, Tyler (June 29, 2014). "Carl Bradford aims to make other teams regret not drafting him". JSOnline.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  16. "Packers sign draft pick, add undrafted rookie". Packers.com. May 16, 2014. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  17. "Green Bay Packers: Carl Bradford". Packers.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  18. "Packers reduce roster to 53". Packers.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  19. "Packers sign WR James Jones, assemble practice squad". Packers.com. September 7, 2015. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  20. "Packers sign eight free agents". Packers.com. January 18, 2016. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  21. "Packers keep six undrafted rookies, including QB Joe Callahan". Packers.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  22. "Packers sign LS Goode; claim RB Pressley". Packers.com. September 5, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  23. "Packers sign LB Carl Bradford to active roster". Packers.com. November 19, 2016. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  24. "Packers sign QB Joe Callahan to active roster". Packers.com. December 17, 2016.
  25. "49ers Place LB Nick Bellore on IR, Claim LB Carl Bradford off Waivers". 49ers.com. December 19, 2016.
  26. "49ers Tender LB Carl Bradford and NT Mike Purcell". 49ers.com. February 27, 2017.
  27. "49ers Announce Several Roster Moves". 49ers.com. May 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017.
  28. Brown, Chris (May 9, 2017). "Bills sign free agent LB Carl Bradford". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  29. Brown, Chris (September 2, 2017). "Bills move 30 off the roster to reach 53". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018.
  30. "Bears cut Deonte Thompson, sign Carl Bradford and Darreus Rogers". 247sports.com. October 11, 2017.
  31. Marcum, Jason (December 6, 2017). "Bengals place John Ross on Injured Reserve". CincyJungle.com.
  32. "Bengals Player Moves 1/1". Bengals.com. January 1, 2018. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018.
  33. Gantt, Darin (April 30, 2018). "Bengals waive two linebackers". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
  34. "Former ASU Standouts Will Sutton, Carl Bradford sign with new pro football league". azcentral.com. September 14, 2018.
  35. Michael Rothstein, Seth Wickersham (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  36. Talbot, Damond (October 16, 2019). "XFL Draft Phase 5: The Final Rounds of the Draft, Find out who was selected". NFL Draft Diamonds. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  37. Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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