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Jets Sign OLB Brandon Copeland


C Mart

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Detroit Lions' Brandon Copeland dangerous, determined in comeback

DAVE BIRKETT | DETROIT FREE PRESS

12:22 pm EST February 13, 2018

Brandon Copeland went through the five stages of grief when he tore his pectoral muscle in the Detroit Lions’ preseason opener last August.

When he finally accepted the reality that his season was over, Copeland vowed to make 2018 his best year yet.

“My fiancée at the time, she’s my wife now, I’m two weeks out of surgery and I’m on a treadmill with a sling, ‘You’re not supposed to be doing that,’” Copeland said. “I’m biking. I’m a day out of surgery and I’m handling other off-the-field business stuff. I just know one mode, so I laugh at any doubt cause I love it. … It's kind of special and memorable when you prove people wrong and I love it. I’ve been doing it my whole life and I’m happy to do it again.”

Copeland’s resolve comes from his rags-to-riches path to the NFL.

He’s signed 10 different contracts with three teams since going undrafted out of Penn in 2013. He’s been cut five times, and three years ago he needed a strong showing at the veteran combine just to keep his NFL dream alive. And last year, after carving out a niche on special teams, he appeared on the verge of expanding his role on defense when he suffered his injury.

the time, Copeland was competing for the starting strong-side linebacker spot while also taking reps at defensive end.

When he first got hurt, Copeland retreated to his home in New Jersey and said he found it difficult to watch Lions games while wishing he could be out on the field “fighting with your brothers.”

“Once you get through surgery then you mentally prepare for, ‘OK, what’s my comeback look like? How am I going to do this? What’s going to motivate me every day because I have months to just sit here and watch people play?’” Copeland said. “And literally, for me, it was I’m always just hungry. I’m always hungry and I’m already here and understand that people will probably doubt that Brandon Copeland will ever play another snap in the NFL. But like I told my mother and other people who kind of look at stuff, I told her, I’m in a much better situation now versus coming as an undrafted player out of the University of Pennsylvania.”

Copeland has established himself as a bonafide NFL player and special-teams standout, one who was secure enough in his job that Lions special-teams coordinator Joe Marciano penciled him in for just one coverage rep in that preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts.

His future is up the in the air, though, as a restricted free agent who might be too pricey for his old team to keep. The low tender will be about $1.8 million.

He recently married his long-time girlfriend, the couple left for their honeymoon to Thailand last week, and when football starts back up in April, Copeland vowed to be the “most dangerous person on the field."

“I’ve always been a guy, I’m going to do whatever Coach wants me to do, whatever the team wants me to do and that’s one thing that’s always kept me around in the NFL,” he said. “But I love being able to do multiple things. I love looking at the Patriots defense and seeing how guys are put in a position to succeed and that put you in position. They like Swiss army knives like myself.”

 

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March 23, 2015  

Finally, the Giants were seen talking to linebacker Brandon Copeland.

The 23-yearold, 6-foot-3, 246-pound linebacker posted and impressive 4.52 second 40-yard dash, and reportedly looked very impressive in his positional drills. That represents a marked improvement over his college pro day numbers, where he recorded a 4.72 second 40-yard dash. Though it should be noted he weighed in at 260 pounds at his college pro day.

Copeland was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent out out of Pennsylvania (not Penn State) following the 2013 draft. He was also on the Tennessee Titans' practice squad before playing for the Orlando Predators Arena League Football team in 2014

Coming out of college, Copeland was tagged as a potential DE/OLB, who could have the bulk to rush the passer as a defensive end, and the athleticism to play linebacker as well. At his new weight, and apparently improved athleticism, it is certainly possible that Copeland could play linebacker in the Giants 4-3 defense, though they may also look to him as a potential stand-up rusher, a la O'Brien Schofield last year.

Copeland reportedly has offers from four teams, though it we have yet to hear if the Giants are one of those teams.

 

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1 hour ago, Sarge4Tide said:

So long Dylan Donahue, we hardly knew you 

Yet another wasted pick?

We sure are using that cap space to stock up on....middling......talent.  Decidedly unimpressed with Macc this offseason all round.  We barely better than when the season ended, if even that.

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2 hours ago, Warfish said:

Yet another wasted pick?

We sure are using that cap space to stock up on....middling......talent.  Decidedly unimpressed with Macc this offseason all round.  We barely better than when the season ended, if even that.

Huh ? Are you serious ? He can't FORCE people to sign here . It's a free country. If you're THAT negative why not wait till the end of the draft to decide.

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4 hours ago, C Mart said:

“I’ve always been a guy, I’m going to do whatever Coach wants me to do, whatever the team wants me to do and that’s one thing that’s always kept me around in the NFL,” he said. “But I love being able to do multiple things. I love looking at the Patriots defense and seeing how guys are put in a position to succeed and that put you in position. They like Swiss army knives like myself.”

Sounds like the dude is gonna be pretty shocked to learn he signed with the Jets. 

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Dylan Donahue, arrested last month for DWI, also faces DUI charge from May '17

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22837583/new-york-jets-linebacker-dylan-donahue-faces-drunken-driving-charge-incident-last-montana

New York Jets linebacker Dylan Donahue, who was arrested for DWI last month after driving the wrong way in the Lincoln Tunnel and crashing into a bus, also faces a drunken-driving charge in his home state of Montana, ESPN has learned.

Donahue, 25, was involved in a car wreck last May 9 in Billings -- nine days after he was drafted by the Jets in the fifth round. An affidavit from the Billings City Attorney's office, obtained by ESPN, claims Donahue committed a DUI and that his blood alcohol content was tested at 0.137. The legal limit is 0.08. Police arrived at the scene at 2:25 a.m., where they found Donahue's SUV flipped over on its roof, according to the affidavit.

Donahue and an unidentified male passenger were bleeding from visible injuries. Donahue told police that he slammed into a parked, unoccupied pickup truck. He claimed he looked down to check his phone and, upon looking up, he saw the parked truck but couldn't stop in time. He said the truck was partially blocking his lane with no lights on.

A police officer detected the smell of alcohol, and Donahue admitted he had "several alcoholic drinks earlier in the evening," per the affidavit. He was transported to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he gave a blood sample that came back with the 0.137 reading. Donahue was charged with felony criminal endangerment, but it was declined by the county attorney's office and forwarded to the city attorney's office as a misdemeanor DUI charge.

It's still pending, the city attorney's office said Monday.

A Jets spokesman said the team had no comment because it's a pending legal matter. The declined to say whether the Jets had knowledge of the arrest.

Coach Todd Bowles, speaking to reporters two days after Donahue's Lincoln Tunnel arrest, was noncommittal on his roster spot. Bowles indicated they'd let the NFL handle any potential discipline.

"You've got to wait and see what the league does first before we do anything," Bowles said. "So it's a legal matter now and we've got to wait our turn, see what happens and go from there."

Asked about the circumstances surrounding the tunnel arrest, Bowles said, "That's not a good thing, that's not something we condone. We hope the people are all right in the other vehicle, but that's a pending legal matter."

Donahue is subject to NFL discipline under the league's substance-abuse policy.

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Penn?   Where is @Lith?  Supposed to be a good special teamer.  They liked him in Detroit, but had a regime change and didn't want to pay the tender, so he was a FA.  

9 hours ago, varjet said:

Two of the Jets OLbs went to Ivy League schools.

One went to West Georgia and drove the wrong way drunk in the one of the Tunnels.

Does not seem right. 

Okay everybody, can you guess which one was drafted?

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11 hours ago, Warfish said:

Yet another wasted pick?

We sure are using that cap space to stock up on....middling......talent.  Decidedly unimpressed with Macc this offseason all round.  We barely better than when the season ended, if even that.

Bridgewater, Johnson and Long have been the best signings so far.

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Shouldn't the 5th round be a spot where you draft a player who has high athletic measurables but for whatever reason, wasn't productive, late bloomer,  lower competition, but has athletic tools to develop?

Why are we drafting a small unathletic DE with short arms, and measly measurables in the 5th round. And when he gets the opportunity of a lifetime by actually getting drafted, he gets caught for 2 DWIs, 1 where he crashes into a bus going the wrong friggen way in the tunnel, and I'm going to assume there were many more where he didn't get caught. A player like Keion Adams who has done nothing for the Steelers yet, at least is an athlete, who at the very least could have been a DPR went in the seventh.

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brandon copeland

The NY Jets have announced that they signed linebacker Brandon Copeland.

Copeland didn’t play in 2017 due to a torn pectoral muscle. The Detroit Lions did not tender him a contract as a restricted free agent. During the 2015 and 2016 seasons he had 30 tackles, and a half-sack in 32 games. He was used mostly as on special teams.

Copeland spent 2015-16 with the Lions, recording 30 tackles and one forced fumble in 32 games (one start). The fourth-year veteran missed the 2017 season with a pectoral tear that he suffered in the preseason.

“Too many different levels of excitement to put into words,” he said after inking his deal. “Coming off of injured reserve, having to sit every Sunday, Monday and Thursday and watching other people play, I’m first and foremost excited to get back to the game that I love.”

Copeland’s grandfather, Roy Hilton, played 11 seasons in the NFL and lined up with the Baltimore Colts against the Jets in Super Bowl III.

The 26 year old, who is listed at 6’3” and 263 lbs originally signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He also spent time on the Tennessee Titans practice squad and in the arena league.

Visit our forums to read more about Brandon Copeland.

Jetnationcom?d=yIl2AUoC8zA Jetnationcom?d=qj6IDK7rITs
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Click here to read the full story...

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15 hours ago, C Mart said:

“I’ve always been a guy, I’m going to do whatever Coach wants me to do, whatever the team wants me to do and that’s one thing that’s always kept me around in the NFL,” he said. “But I love being able to do multiple things. I love looking at the Patriots defense and seeing how guys are put in a position to succeed and that put you in position. They like Swiss army knives like myself.”

 

 

11 hours ago, slats said:

Sounds like the dude is gonna be pretty shocked to learn he signed with the Jets. 

Yeah instead of doing multiple things well, Jets' philosophy is having everyone specialize in one thing but to be able to perform that specialization at an embarrassingly incompetent level.

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4 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

Penn?   Where is @Lith?  Supposed to be a good special teamer.  They liked him in Detroit, but had a regime change and didn't want to pay the tender, so he was a FA.  

Okay everybody, can you guess which one was drafted?

I was tempted to change my avatar back to the Penn one after I read we signed him last night.  Maybe if he actually makes the team.

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1 hour ago, Lith said:

I was tempted to change my avatar back to the Penn one after I read we signed him last night.  Maybe if he actually makes the team.

I think I give him a 50% chance.  Not likely he is a real OLB after 5 years in the league with no real run, but we need some guys on specials and the guys in front of him are underwhelming.

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