Brandon Lloyd Brandon Matthew Lloyd ( born July 5 , 1981 ) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent . He played college football at University of Illinois , and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the Fourth round , 124th overall of the 2003 NFL Draft . Lloyd has also played for the Washington Redskins , Chicago Bears , Denver Broncos , St . Louis Rams , and New England Patriots . Early years . Lloyd attended Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs , Missouri and was a letterman in football , basketball , and track . Lloyd grew up in a large family with three brothers and three sisters . His parents were both teachers and stressed education from a very young age . In track he still holds a school record 7 ' 4 high jump . In football , he was a three - time All - Suburban Big Eight honoree , and as a senior , he was also awarded All - Region by the Mo - Kan Magazine and was named an All - State honoree by the St . Louis Post - Dispatch . College career . Lloyd attended the University of Illinois beginning in 1999 . After a promising freshman season , Lloyd missed all of the 2000 season with a broken femur . He returned healthy and had outstanding seasons in both 2001 and 2002 . He was a consensus First - Team All - Big Ten performer after his sophomore season in 2001 , helping lead the Fighting Illini to a 10 - 2 record and a BCS berth in the Sugar Bowl . After his junior season in 2002 , Lloyd declared his eligibility for the NFL Draft . Of the seven children in the Lloyd family , he was the only one who started a career without finishing college . According to Brandon , " I saw [ my mom ] cry was when I told her I wasn ' t going back to school . She just thought that was the end of everything . " Lloyd finished his college career having the second - most receiving yards ( 2 , 835 ) and touchdown catches ( 31 ) in Illinois history , and ranking third in all - time receptions ( 160 ) . Professional career . San Francisco 49ers . Lloyd was drafted in the Second round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers . In his first game he blocked a punt against the Chicago Bears on September 7 , 2003 . On November 2 , 2003 , he caught his first touchdown pass against the St . Louis Rams . He finished the season with 14 receptions for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns . In 2004 , Lloyd started and appeared in 13 games and finished the season with 43 catches for 565 yards and 6 touchdowns . During the 2005 season Lloyd started 15 games and had 48 receptions 733 yards receiving and had 5 touchdown catches . In Week 3 vs . the Dallas Cowboys , he recorded four catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns , including a 89 - yard touchdown catch . Washington Redskins . On Saturday March 11 , 2006 , the San Francisco 49ers traded Lloyd to Washington Redskins in exchange for a third - round draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and a fourth - round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft . His first season is widely considered a failure , as he caught 23 passes for no touchdowns . According to Howard Bryant of the Washington Post , citing NFL . com , " Lloyd suffered through the worst season for a starting receiver in the Super Bowl era . . . No starting No . 2 wide receiver in the NFL started more games ( 12 ) while producing less ( 23 catches , 365 yards ) . " Lloyd never made it out of Joe Gibbs ' doghouse , due to a questionable attitude and alleged poor work ethic . On Sunday , November 4 , 2007 , Lloyd was listed among Redskins inactives as the team traveled to play against the New York Jets . Citing the reason behind the move , Gibbs said that Lloyd had been told to remain behind in Washington as disciplinary action for missing important team meetings . Lloyd would spend the latter part of the 2007 season on injured reserve after having snapped his collar bone while making a diving touchdown catch during team practice . On February 26 , 2008 , the Redskins released Lloyd , who caught only 21 passes for 315 yards for the 2007 season . Chicago Bears . On March 7 , 2008 , Lloyd signed a one - year deal with the Chicago Bears after the release of Muhsin Muhammad and the loss of Bernard Berrian to free agency . The move reunited him with Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner , who was Lloyd ' s head coach at Illinois . Lloyd had a successful start to his career in Chicago , establishing himself as a favorite target of quarterback Rex Grossman , with 15 catches in his first four games . An injury forced him to miss several weeks , and he fell out of favor with the coaching staff as a result . He returned to the field in week 11 , though did not approach his early - season productivity until the Bears ' final game of the season , where he caught 4 passes from Grossmen for 64 yards . Denver Broncos . Lloyd ' s contract with the Chicago Bears expired after the end of the 2008 season . In early April , Bears quarterback Kyle Orton was traded to the Denver Broncos in a deal involving Jay Cutler . As the offseason progressed , the Bears did not make any efforts to resign Lloyd . LLoyd signed with the Denver Broncos on June 15 , 2009 . Lloyd re - signed with the Broncos on March 15 , 2010 . During the Broncos ' 24 - 20 loss to the Jets on 17 October , Lloyd was subjected to a helmet - to - helmet tackle / hit by New York safety Jim Leonhard , resulting in a 15 - yard penalty . This hit , along with several other helmet - to - helmet hits during NFL games that weekend , led the league to announce such future ' devastating hits ' or ' head shots ' will be met with possible suspensions even for first - time offenders , a significant change in league policy , especially during an on - going season . He led the NFL in receiving yards with 1 , 448 yards for the 2010 season . and was named 2nd Team All - Pro and was invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl . St . Louis Rams . On October 17 , 2011 , Lloyd was traded to the St . Louis Rams , where he caught 71 passes . The Rams gave up a conditional sixth - round pick that was upgraded to a fifth - round pick because Lloyd had over 30 receptions . New England Patriots . On March 17 , 2012 , Lloyd signed a three - year deal with the New England Patriots for $ 20 million with incentives to escalate it to $ 26 . 5 million . This deal reunited Lloyd with Josh McDaniels , his coach in Denver and Offensive Coordinator with the Rams . In week 3 he scored his first touchdown as a Patriot in arguably the most famous catch of his career . In week 8 he faced the St . Louis Rams his former team in London . He finished the game with 2 receptions , both for touchdowns . He finished the season with 74 catches for 911 yards and 4 touchdowns . He was released by the Patriots on March 16 , 2013 . Music career . In addition to his football career , Lloyd has recorded music and attempted to launch a career as a rapper . In 2008 his single " She All Mine " made the Billboard R & B chart , and his song " Heavy " was featured on the Spike TV show " Blue Mountain State " . Lloyd has received criticism for trying to balance careers in football and rap , but he says that making music is important to expressing who he really is . Quoted in a 2011 article , Lloyd said , " I have the guts to stand out and do something I ' m passionate about , go against the grain and go against the conventional wisdom that the athlete - rap thing is unsuccessful . Yet I ' m going to do it . People will say : ' Oh , you ' re doing hip - hop music ? Who does he think he is , a rapper ? He ' s trying to be someone he ' s not . ' When in reality , I ' d be someone I ' m not by not expressing myself in music . "