Lance Briggs

Infobox NFLactive


caption=Lance Briggs (55) at the Bears summer training camp in 2008
currentteam=Chicago Bears
currentnumber=55
currentpositionplain=Linebacker
birthdate=birth date and age|1980|11|12
birthplace=Sacramento, California
heightft=6
heightin=1
weight=240
debutyear=2003
debutteam=Chicago Bears
highlights=
* 2x All-Pro selection (2005, 2006)
* 3x Pro Bowl selection (2005, 2006, 2007)
college=Arizona
draftyear=2003
draftround=3
draftpick=68
pastteams=
* Chicago Bears (2003-present)
status=Active
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Tackles
statvalue1=543
statlabel2=Sacks
statvalue2=5.5
statlabel3=INTs
statvalue3=6
nfl=BRI150227

Lance Marell Briggscite web|title=Briggs on Pro-Football-Reference |work=rbref.com |url=http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrigLa99.htm |accessdate=2007-12-18] (born November 12, 1980 in Sacramento, California) is an American football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona.

Early years

A Sacramento native, Briggs attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California. He was a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 Conference selection as a linebacker at the University of Arizona. Briggs finished his college career with 308 tackles, ten and a half sacks, 36 tackles for losses, three interceptions, ten passes deflected, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in 33 games at strong side linebacker.

Professional career

Briggs was a third round draft pick (68th overall) by the Chicago Bears in the 2003 NFL Draft. In 2004 he led the team in tackles with 168, and was elected as a second alternate to the Pro Bowl. In 2005, Briggs was selected to represent the National Football Conference in the 2006 Pro Bowl. However, Briggs drew controversy when he refused to attended the Bears' summer camp, resulting in a temporary demotion.

He finished the 2006 Chicago Bears season as a clutch performer on the Bear's defense. Briggs was selected to play in the 2007 Pro Bowl, but opted to defer the invitation because of an injured foot. He became a free agent following the National Football League playoffs, 2006-07, leaving his future with the Bears in the air. Despite Briggs’ high price tag, commentary from NFL on Fox revealed Urlacher was willing to take a pay-cut in order to keep Briggs on the team. On February 16, 2007, the Bears officially placed the franchise tag on him, which guarantees him a one-year contract for the 2007 NFL season at slightly more than $7.2 million dollars. [Chicagobears.com, [http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=3079 Bears designate Briggs as franchise player] Retrieved on February 17, 2007]

On the morning of March 3, 2007, Briggs was featured "The Mike North Morning Show", and stated he was upset with the amount of money he was currently earning. Briggs later stated he enjoys his teammates, coaches and fans, but was fed up with the organization. He later went on to state he no longer wanted to be a Bear, and demanded a trade. [Chicago Sun-Times, [http://www.suntimes.com/sports/283643,briggs030507.article Briggs to Bears: Pay me or trade me] Retrieved on March 3, 2007] . Briggs also made his unhappiness known in a March 2007 interview with a Chicago radio station in which he said "I'll do everything that's within my power to not be with this organization." [cite news | last = Associated Press | title = Briggs not happy with Bears; Angelo feels salary is just
publisher = ESPN | date = 2007-03-07 | url = http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2790088 | accessdate = 2007-03-07 ]

On March 12, 2007 Briggs announced he no longer considers himself a member of the Chicago Bears. During a cell phone interview with Foxsports.com Briggs said "I am now prepared to sit out the year if the Bears don't trade me or release me, I've played my last snap for them. I'll never play another down for Chicago again." [cite news | last = Glazer | first = Jay | title = Bears Pro Bowler ready to sit out season | publisher = Foxsports.com | date = 2007-03-12 | url = http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6562918 | accessdate = 2007-03-13 ] In explaining his demands, he said "The Bears have shown I'm not in their long-term plans so if that's the case, I don't want to be here." A report from FOX Sports on March 27 claimed that the Washington Redskins allegedly offered the Bears their first round pick in exchange for Briggs and the Bears' own first round pick. [Foxsports.com, [http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6613558 Redskins to make play for Bears' Briggs] Retrieved on March 27, 2007] On March 28, Bears general manager Jerry Angelo confirmed that the Redskins have made a trade offer and stated, "We'll evaluate if that's good for us and get back to them". [USAToday.com, [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2007-03-28-sudden-death_N.htm Owners make no change to sudden-death system] Retrieved on March 29, 2007] Angelo deferred the offer on April 3, [ESPN.com, [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2823964 Bears tell Redskins draft pick swap won't do] Retrieved on April 3, 2007] but later stated they were interested in negotiating a deal the following day. [Chicagobears.com, [http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=3253 Bears still negotiating with Redskins] Retrieved on April 4, 2007] The Bears then proposed a trade with the Redskins which included linebacker Rocky McIntosh as well as the Redskins first-round pick in exchange for Briggs. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/26/AR2007042602711.html Redskins May Still Trade for Briggs - washingtonpost.com ] ]

Briggs did not attend the team's first meeting after their Super Bowl XLI loss, or their mandatory mini camp session in May 2007. [Chicagobears.com, [http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=3275 Bears determined to complete unfinished business] Retrieved on April 4, 2007] [Yahoo! Sports, [http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AuOGh3PP0ZaleH7UMBnA8Q3.uLYF?slug=ap-bears-briggs&prov=ap&type=lgns Briggs a no-show at Bears minicamp] (May 18, 2007), Retrieved on May 21, 2007.]

On March 1, 2008 the Bears re-signed Briggs to a six-year, $36 million contract to remain a Chicago Bear.

Car accident

On August 27, 2007, The Illinois State Police discovered Briggs' crashed Lamborghini Murciélago on Chicago's Edens Expressway. [Associated Press, [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20460217/ Briggs’ Lamborghini found crashed on highway] (August 27, 2007), msnbc, Retrieved on August 27, 2007.] Briggs first told the Illinois State Police that his car had been stolen, but later changed his story. Briggs told officials that he was driving the car alone when it crashed. Briggs was charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident, a class A misdemeanor, as well as failure to give immediate notice of an accident and improper lane usage. Officials stated that Briggs was not tested for alcohol or drugs, and too much time had passed to perform such tests by the time they had interviewed him. Briggs appeared before a court on October 4, 2007.Associated Press, [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2992847 Briggs charged with leaving scene of accident after crashing Lamborghini] (August 27, 2007), ESPN.com, Retrieved on August 27, 2007.]

References

External links

* [http://www.lancebriggs.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.chicagobears.com/team/teamRosterDetails.jsp?id=199 Chicago Bears bio]