{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1993)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox Canadian Football League biography |name=Brandon Alexander |image=2021, 37, Brandon Alexander.jpg |image_upright=0.95 |caption=Alexander with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2021 |team= |number= |position=Defensive back |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1993|09|27|mf=y}} |birth_place=Orlando, Florida, U.S. |death_date= |death_place= |height_ft=6 |height_in=0 |weight_lbs=190 |high_school= |college=Central Florida | playing_years1 = {{NFL Year|2015}} | playing_team1 = Atlanta Falcons* | playing_years2 = {{CFL Year|2017|2024}} | playing_team2 = Winnipeg Blue Bombers | status = | import = yes | career_highlights= * 2× Grey Cup champion (2019, 2021) * CFL All-Star ({{CFL Year|2021}}) * 2× CFL West All-Star ({{CFL Year|2021}}, {{CFL Year|2023}}) * Second-team All-AAC (2014) |nflnew= |pfr= |statlabel1=Games played |statvalue1=90 |statlabel2=Def. tackles |statvalue2=268 |statlabel3=ST tackles |statvalue3=20 |statlabel4=Interceptions |statvalue4=8 |statlabel5=Quarterback sacks |statvalue5=0 |statlabel6= Forced fumbles |statvalue6=7 |CFL=brandon-alexander/163055/ }} '''Brandon Alexander''' (born September 27, 1993) is an American professional football defensive back. He most recently played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time Grey Cup champion after winning with Blue Bombers in 2019 and 2021.
==College career== Alexander played college football for the UCF Knights from 2011 to 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/roster/player/brandon-alexander |title=Brandon Alexander |publisher=UCF Knights |access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref>
==Professional career== Following his collegiate career, Alexander was undrafted in the 2015 CFL draft, but had a mini-camp tryout with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL).<ref name=leader>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/05/27/brandon-alexander-emerging-leader/ |title=Brandon Alexander {{!}} Emerging Leader |publisher=Winnipeg Blue Bombers |date=May 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2015/05/06/ucfs-brandon-alexander-grateful-for-upcoming-tryout-with-atlanta-falcons/ |title=UCF's Brandon Alexander 'grateful' for upcoming tryout with Atlanta Falcons |publisher=Orlando Sentinel |date=May 6, 2015}}</ref>
On April 17, 2017, Alexander signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.<ref name=2017T>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cfl.ca/transactions/2017/ |title=Transactions – Football Player Trades and Signings |publisher=Canadian Football League |access-date=February 22, 2025}}</ref> After earning a starting position following training camp, he played and started in 15 regular season games while missing three due to injury.<ref name=CFLguide>{{cite web|url=https://static.cfl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2050/11/2024-CFL-Guide-Digital.pdf |title=2024 CFL Guide |publisher=Canadian Football League |access-date=June 9, 2024}}</ref> He had 52 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, four pass knockdowns, two forced fumbles, and one interception that he returned for a touchdown.<ref name=CFLguide/> For his outstanding season in 2017, Alexander was the team's nominee for the most outstanding rookie in the CFL.<ref>{{cite news |title=Harris, Randle, Bryant, Medlock and Alexander also up for CFL awards |url=http://winnipegsun.com/sports/football/cfl/winnipeg-bluebombers/nichols-named-bombers-nominee-for-most-outstanding-player |website=Winnipeg Sun |date=November 1, 2017}}</ref>
In 2018, Alexander played and started in 14 regular season games where he recorded 36 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, four pass knockdowns, two forced fumbles, and three interceptions.<ref name=CFLguide/> In the 2019 season, he played in just ten regular season games where he had 38 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, and four pass knockdowns.<ref name=CFLguide/> He played in all three of the team's post-season games, including his first Grey Cup appearance.<ref name=CFLguide/> Alexander won the 107th Grey Cup with the Blue Bombers when they defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33–12.<ref name=107GC>{{cite news |title=5 game-changing moments from 107th Grey Cup between the Bombers and Ticats |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-grey-cup-winnipeg-blue-bombers-hamilton-tiger-cats-key-moments-1.5371807 |website=CBC Sports |date=Nov 24, 2019}}</ref> He had an interception early in that game when he picked Dane Evans' first pass of the game, which was one of seven turnovers created by Winnipeg.<ref name=107GC/>
Alexander did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season. He signed a one-year contract extension with the Blue Bombers on January 11, 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=Winnipeg Blue Bombers agree to terms on one-year extension with safety Brandon Alexander |url=https://www.bluebombers.com/2021/01/11/winnipeg-blue-bombers-agree-terms-one-year-extension-safety-brandon-alexander/ |website=BlueBombers.com |date=January 11, 2021 |access-date=February 17, 2021}}</ref> Throughout the 2021 season, Alexander continued to build his reputation as a hard hitting safety for the Blue Bombers. While being named both a CFL West All-Star and CFL All-Star at safety for the first time, Alexander helped solidify the Blue Bombers' secondary and recorded 36 defensive tackles, two interceptions, and one forced fumble as part of a defence that allowed a league-low 12.9 points per game.<ref name=CFLguide/><ref>{{cite news |title= Hard-hitting Winnipeg safety Brandon Alexander doesn't care about his reputation in opposing locker rooms |url= https://3downnation.com/2021/12/09/hard-hitting-winnipeg-safety-brandon-alexander-doesnt-care-about-his-reputation-in-opposing-locker-rooms/ |website= 3DownNation |date= December 9, 2021}}</ref> He made a second appearance in the Grey Cup when the team qualified for the 108th Grey Cup against the hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cats.<ref name=CFLguide/> Alexander would go on to contribute two defensive tackles before suffering a knee injury as the Bombers would go on to win their second consecutive Grey Cup in overtime by a score of 33–25.<ref name=CFLguide/><ref>{{cite web |title= Blue Bombers defeat Tiger-Cats 33-25 in OT to repeat as Grey Cup champions |author= Dan Ralph |url= https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-grey-cup-recap-blue-bombers-tiger-cats-2021-1.6283215 |website= CBC Sports |date= December 12, 2021}}</ref><ref name=first2022>{{Cite news |url=https://3downnation.com/2022/09/16/all-star-safety-brandon-alexander-to-make-first-appearance-of-2022-for-the-bombers/ |title=All-star safety Brandon Alexander to make first appearance of 2022 for the Bombers |publisher=3DownNation |date=September 16, 2022}}</ref>
After recovering from a knee injury sustained in the 108th Grey Cup game, Alexander missed the first 13 games of the 2022 season.<ref name=first2022/> He played in the final five regular season games where he had eight defensive tackles and a forced fumble.<ref name=CFLguide/> He also played in the 109th Grey Cup where he recorded four defensive tackles in the loss to the Toronto Argonauts.<ref name=CFLguide/> In 2023, Alexander played in 17 regular season games where he had 41 defensive tackles, one pass knockdown, and two interceptions.<ref name=CFLguide/> He also played in both post-season games, including the 110th Grey Cup where he had three defensive tackles and one forced fumble in the loss to the Montreal Alouettes.<ref name=CFLguide/>
Alexander played in 16 regular season games in 2024 where he had a career-high 57 defensive tackles and one forced fumble.<ref name=CFLbio>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/players/brandon-alexander/163055/ |title=Brandon Alexander |publisher=Canadian Football League |access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref> He played in his fifth consecutive Grey Cup game where he had three defensive tackles and one special teams tackle in the Blue Bombers' 111th Grey Cup loss to the Argonauts.<ref name=111playbyplay>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cfl.ca/games/6486/winnipeg-blue%20bombers-vs-toronto-argonauts/#playbyplay |title=Play-by-Play, 111th Grey Cup |publisher=Canadian Football League |date=November 17, 2024}}</ref> He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 11, 2025.<ref name=2025T>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cfl.ca/transactions/2025/ |title=Transactions – Football Player Trades and Signings |publisher=Canadian Football League |access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cfl.ca/fa25/ |title=Official 2025 Free Agent Tracker |publisher=Canadian Football League |access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref>
<!--- No updates, hiding table ==CFL statistics== {| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="0" width="65%" style="text-align:center" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" | ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="7" | Defence |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Year ! Team ! Games ! Tackles ! ST ! Sacks ! Int ! TD ! FF |- |2017 |WPG |15 |52 |4 |0 |1 |1 |2 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |2018 |WPG |14 |36 |4 |0 |3 |0 |2 |- |2019 |WPG |10 |38 |4 |0 |0 |0 |0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2020 | WPG | colspan="10" | ''Season cancelled'' |- ALIGN="center" |2021 |WPG |13 |36 |8 |0 |2 |0 |1 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" | CFL totals !52 !162 !20 !0 !6 !1 !5 |} ---> ==Personal life== Alexander's father, Derrick, played at defensive end for five years in the NFL.<ref name=leader/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.cfl.ca/players/brandon-alexander/163055/ CFL bio] *{{commonscatinline}}
{{107th Grey Cup}} {{108th Grey Cup}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Brandon}} Category:Living people Category:1993 births Category:American football defensive backs Category:Canadian football defensive backs Category:UCF Knights football players Category:Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Category:21st-century American sportsmen Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen Category:Players of American football from Orlando, Florida Category:Players of Canadian football from Orlando, Florida Category:Atlanta Falcons players