Brandon Copeland (linebacker)

Brandon Copeland (born July 2, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at The University of Pennsylvania.

Early life
Copeland is from Sykesville, Maryland. He is the grandson of former Baltimore Colts player Roy Hilton. Copeland graduated from Gilman High School where he played 3 sports: football, basketball and track.

He was on the championship squad at the 2006 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. He received the National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete of the Year Award in 2008 and was an Academic All-State team honoree the same year.

College career
Copeland attended the University of Pennsylvania where he was the captain of the 2012 Ivy League championship winning team. He graduated from the Wharton School with a Bachelor of Science in economics.

Baltimore Ravens
On April 27, 2013, he signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on August 31, 2013.

Tennessee Titans
He signed with the Tennessee Titans to their practice squad on October 8, 2013. He was released from the Titans’ practice squad on November 5, 2013, but re-signed to the team's practice squad on November 12, 2013. He signed with the Titans to a future contract on December 31, 2013.

Detroit Lions
On April 7, 2015, Copeland signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions. It came after he participated in the NFL Veterans Combine, where he, along with Ifeanyi Momah were the only participants to be offered contracts.

Copeland suffered a torn pectoral in the Lions' first preseason game of 2017 and was ruled out for the season.

New York Jets
On March 19, 2018, Copeland signed with the New York Jets. He played in 16 games with 10 starts, recording 35 combined tackles, and five sacks.

On March 25, 2019, Copeland re-signed with the Jets. He was suspended the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Personal life
Copeland interned at the investment bank UBS over summers during college and has since returned to Penn to teach a financial literacy seminar with Dr. Brian Peterson, the director of Penn's Makuu Black Cultural Center