RIP Bryan Braman: Super Bowl LII winning linebacker dies of cancer at 38

Bryan Braman, 38-year-old former NFL linebacker, died of cancer on Thursday (Jul 17) , said his agent Sean Stellato. Braman played in NFL from 2011 to 2017 and won the Super Bowl LII in his final league game with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. He had joined the Eagles in playoffs and famously blocked a punt in the divisional round as well. He was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer in February earlier this year and had undergone multiple surgeries in Seattle as per a GoFundMe set up to help him with the expenses. Braman is survived by two daughters aged 11 and eight.
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He also played for Houston Texans in the NFL apart from the Eagles. His Texans teammate JJ Watt had also donated $10,000 for his treatment through the GoFundMe page. Braman had joined Texans in 2011 as undrafted free agent after playing college football at Long Beach City College, Idaho and West Texas A&M. He, however, played mainly in special teams in the league and was known for his punt blocking ability.

He played three seasons with the Texans - from 2011 to 2013 - before moving bases to Philadelphia where he played from 2014 to 2016. In total, he played in 94 NFL regular season games and recorded 53 total tackles out of which 45 were solo and eight were assisted. He also blocked three kicks in regular season games - two in 2012 with the Texans and one in his maiden season with the Eagles in 2014. His only career touchdown came in 2012 with the Texans - a pick six at that.

As for postseason, he played two games each in 2011 and 2012 with the Texans and three in 2017 with the Eagles which led to Super Bowl win eventually. He recorded three sacks in total seven postseason games played - two solo and one assisted.