Antoine Brooks

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Antoine Brooks Jr.
refer to caption
Brooks in 2018
No. 39 – Los Angeles Rams
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1997-10-28) October 28, 1997 (age 24)
Lanham, Maryland
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:DuVal High School
(Lanham, Maryland)
College:Maryland
NFL Draft:2020 / Round: 6 / Pick: 198
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2021
Total tackles:5
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Antoine Brooks Jr. (born October 28, 1997) is an American football safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Early life and high school[]

Brooks grew up in Lanham, Maryland and attended DuVal High School.[1] He was a starting defensive back and quarterback for the Tigers. As a junior, he was named first team All-Metro by The Washington Post and first team All-State at defensive back.[2] Midway through his senior season Brooks suffered a compound fracture on his ankle and a broken wrist while throwing a pass against Wise High School, requiring five hours of surgery to repair and putting his football career in doubt.[3] He was still named second team All-Metro, first team All-State and the Prince George's County 4A Offensive Player of the Year despite missing half of the season.[4] Although he originally had over 15 scholarship offers, much of his recruiting interest faded after his injury and he initially committed to play college football at Buffalo. Brooks committed to play at Maryland a few days before National Signing Day after a late push from coach D. J. Durkin over offers from Pitt, Indiana, Hawaii, Buffalo, Army, Old Dominion and Charlotte.[5][6]

College career[]

Brooks played in six games, mostly on special teams, during his freshman season before being suspended for the rest of the season.[7] He became the Terrapins' primary nickel back as a sophomore and finished second on the team with 77 tackles and led all defensive backs in the Big Ten Conference with 9.5 tackles for loss along with one sack, two interceptions, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.[8][9][10] As a junior, Brooks was Maryland's third leading tackler with 68 and led the team with 9.5 tackles for loss with 2.5 sacks, three passes defended and an interception and was named second team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches.[11][12] As a senior, Brooks played safety and nickel linebacker and lead the team with 87 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss, and interception and six passes defended and again named second team All-Big Ten by the coaches and to the third team by the media.[13][14]

Professional career[]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash Vertical jump Bench press
5 ft 10+5⁄8 in
(1.79 m) 		220 lb
(100 kg) 		31+1⁄8 in
(0.79 m) 		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.64 s 34.5 in
(0.88 m)		 18 reps
All values from NFL Combine[15]

Pittsburgh Steelers[]

Brooks was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 198th pick in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.[16] He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[17][18] He was elevated to the active roster on October 31, November 7, November 14, and November 30 for the team's weeks 8, 9, 10, and 12 games against the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals, and Ravens, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[19][20][21][22][23] He was signed to the active roster on December 3.[24]

On August 24, 2021, Brooks was waived/injured and placed on injured reserve.[25] He was released on September 2, 2021.

Los Angeles Rams[]

On September 4, 2021, Brooks was signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 9, 2021.[26] He was waived on January 29, 2022 and re-signed to the practice squad. Brooks won Super Bowl LVI when the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.[27]

On February 15, 2022, Brooks signed a reserve/future contract with the Rams.[28]

References[]

  1. ^ "Maryland National Signing Day 2016: Antoine Brooks". Los Angeles Times. February 3, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2020.[dead link]
  2. ^ "2015 Maryland high school All-State football team". Capital Gazette. January 4, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  3. ^ Smith, Scott (October 14, 2015). "Star Md. prep football player Antoine Brooks recovering after suffering serious injuries". Fox5DC.com. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Giannotto, Mark (February 2, 2016). "Injured DuVal football star Antoine Brooks commits to Maryland after late offer". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  5. ^ Connors, Ryan (August 18, 2016). "After a grisly injury, freshman Antoine Brooks is ready to contribute for Maryland football". TestudoTimes.com. SB Nation. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Kirshner, Alex (February 1, 2016). "Antoine Brooks commits to Maryland: Terps land local linebacker". TestudoTimes.com. SB Nation. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  7. ^ "Two Maryland football players charged in BB gun incident". NBC Sports Washington. November 16, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  8. ^ "Halfway through season, Antoine Brooks Jr. has been a hit as Maryland's nickel back". The Baltimore Sun. October 20, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Fitzgerald, Justin (July 29, 2019). "Antoine Brooks Jr. will lead Maryland football's defense at a new position". TestudoTimes.com. SB Nation. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  10. ^ "For Antoine Brooks Jr., his family and the Terps, 'smiles, tears, joy, a lot of mixed emotions'". The Washington Post. September 7, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  11. ^ "No quit in Maryland safety Antoine Brooks Jr. four years after suffering career-threatening injury". The Baltimore Sun. October 19, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Fitzgerald, Justin (August 1, 2019). "Maryland's Brooks, McFarland named on player award watch lists". Montgomery County Sentinel. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  13. ^ Goul, Matt (March 10, 2020). "Antoine Brooks Jr., Maryland S: 2020 NFL Draft profile". Cleveland.com. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Gilpin, Matthew (December 3, 2019). "Maryland football's Antoine Brooks and Javon Leake earn All-Big Ten honors". The Diamondback. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  15. ^ "Antoine Brooks Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  16. ^ Varley, Teresa (April 25, 2020). "Steelers select Brooks Jr. in the sixth round". www.steelers.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  17. ^ Varley, Teresa (September 6, 2020). "Steelers make moves to get to 53-man roster". Steelers.com.
  18. ^ Strackbein, Noah. "Steelers Sign McCullers, Brooks Jr., 12 Others to Practice Squad". SI.com. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  19. ^ Varley, Teresa (October 31, 2020). "Roster moves continue for Steelers". Steelers.com. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  20. ^ Koehler, Allison (November 10, 2020). "Rookie DB Antoine Brooks heads back to practice squad". Steelers Wire. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  21. ^ "Steelers release veteran offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski". Post-Gazette.com. November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  22. ^ "Steelers make roster moves". www.steelers.com. November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  23. ^ Varley, Teresa (November 30, 2020). "Steelers make moves ahead of Ravens game". Steelers.com. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  24. ^ "Steelers place Dupree on Reserve/Injured". Steelers.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  25. ^ "Steelers reduce roster to 80". Steelers.com. August 24, 2021.
  26. ^ "Rams sign DB Antoine Brooks Jr. to roster, bring back Jonah Williams on practice squad". TheRamsWire. USA Today. November 10, 2021.
  27. ^ Schwartz, Paul (February 13, 2021). "LA Rams defeat Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl 2022". nypost.com.
  28. ^ Cothrel, Nicholas (February 15, 2022). "Rams Sign 12 Players to a Reserve/Future Contract". sportsillustrated.com.

External links[]

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