Veteran wide receiver Brandon Lloyd has announced his retirement from the NFL, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. According to Wagoner, Lloyd’s announcement, which was made via press release, thanked several coaches and players by name.
Lloyd, who was known for his ability to make acrobatic catches, broke into the NFL as a fourth-round pick in 2003, and spent his first three season with the 49ers. The Illinois product bounced around from San Francisco to Washington to Chicago, and then to Denver, where he had his breakout season in 2010. Having never totaled more than 48 receptions or 733 yards in a season prior to ’10, Lloyd smashed those career highs, racking up a league-leading 1,448 receiving yards along with 11 touchdowns on 77 catches.
A few weeks into the 2011 season, Lloyd was traded by the Broncos to the Rams. At season’s end, he signed a contract with the Patriots, and enjoyed one last productive season in New England in 2012, picking up 911 yards and four touchdowns on 74 receptions.
Most recently, Lloyd played for the 2014 Niners, making him the latest member of that team to announce his retirement, following in the footsteps of Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, and Chris Borland. Lloyd, who turned 34 over the summer, had just 14 catches last season in San Francisco, and had been a free agent since his one-year pact expired.
For his career, Lloyd fell just short of 400 receptions and 6,000 receiving yards, accumulating 399 and 5,989 respectively.
Good receiver. Drops easy catches but catches every hard catch. Fun to watch him play