NFL Wolverines: 2013 Statistics

Denard Robinson, Chad Henne, Jordan Kovacs

Despite the football program's recent and not-so-recent struggles, Michigan continues to be well-represented in the NFL.  Here's a list by position group:

Quarterback

Tom Brady recorded an 87.3 quarterback rating, his lowest since 2003.  Still, 4,343 yards and 25 touchdowns isn't too shabby.

Chad Henne continued to show that he can be a valuable and reliable backup in the NFL.  The only problem is that Henne played a starting roll for the Jacksonville Jaguars, which resulted in a 4-13 record.  After the season, the Jags still locked up him for another two years.  Henne finished the season with a 76.5 quarterback rating, 3,241 yards passing, 13 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

Ryan Mallett didn't see game action backing up Tom Brady.

Running Back

Denard Robinson carried the ball 20 times for a total of 66 yards.  Although that only amounted to a 3.3 yard average, he did have an impressive 24-yard run against the Buffalo Bills.  Unfortunately, Robinson fumbled at the end of the play--one of his three fumbles on the season--and the ball was recovered by Buffalo in the endzone for a safety.

Michael Cox  recorded 43 yards on 22 rushing attempts in his rookie year for the New York Giants.  He also operated as an on-again, off-again kick returner, registering a 56-yard return against the Detroit Lions late in the season.

Wide Receiver

Jason Avant is a "wonderful catcher of balls . . . and such a good receiver for all the Eagles, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," or so the song goes.  He finished the season with 38 receptions for 447 yards and two touchdowns.  Avant signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers at year's end. 

Junior Hemingway played in every game, and totaled 13 catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.  He also recorded eight tackles, presumably on special teams.

Mario Manningham played in six games but did not accrue any statistics during his injury-plagued season for San Francisco.  He later signed a one-year deal with his former team, the New York Giants.

Offensive Line

Jonathan Goodwin graded out as the second best center in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, and played in all 16 games for the 49ers.  Despite that, he has yet to be re-signed by his team and is currently a free agent.

Jake Long started and played in 15 games for his new team the St. Louis Rams.  He spent the previous five seasons with the Miami Dolphins.

Steve Schilling played in seven games as a San Diego Charger before signing with the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.

David Baas played in three games for the New York Giants.  He is now a free agent. 

William Campbell suited up for the New York Jets but did not see game action.

Patrick Omameh did not see game action with his team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

David Molk was not in the league during the 2013 season after being cut by the Chargers; however, he recently signed with Chip Kelly and the Eagles and is listed on the team roster.

Hit the jump for the defensive players.

A Patriot for Life

Via the Washington Post

Tom Brady has reportedly signed a three-year contract extension with the New England Patriots worth an estimated $27 million.  Already signed through 2014, the deal makes Brady a Patriot through 2017 and the age of 40 -- almost certainly ensuring that he finishes his career with the same team that drafted him out of Michigan with the 199th overall pick.

Although $27 million dollars sounds like--and indeed is--a ludicrous sum of money, Brady is actually signing for much less than his true market value.  In turn, the Patriots immediately free up $15 million in cap space and retain more capital to build a better team.  For the sake of comparison, most expect Baltimore quarterback Joe Flaco to make around $20 million per year when he finally inks his new deal.

SI notes that this is not the first time that Brady has put his team first during contract negotiations.  His last contract, worth $60 million over six years, paid him about $5 million less per year than Peyton Manning at the time.  Although Brady's sacrifice is clearly a noble act that reflects his team-first mentality, there may be a secondary gain in order.  If the extra cap room results in an improved Patriot team and an additional Super Bowl win or two, Brady could stand to make substantially more money in sponsorship and advertising.  

Former Michigan Athletes: 2013 Free Agents

Jake Long, first overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft

 2013 NFL free agency is scheduled to begin March 12, and several former Michigan athletes are up for grabs.  Here's the list:

Jake Long, OT
Steve Breaston, WR
Alan Branch, DT
Larry Foote, LB
Stevie Brown, S
Ryan Mundy, S
Charles Woodson, S

Steve Breaston Released by the Chiefs

Breaston looking bored

 As you may have heard, Steve Breaston was released by the Kansas City Chiefs.  Breaston played for Michigan from '03 through '06 and finished his college career with 156 receptions for 1,696 yards and ten touchdowns.  He also made a name for himself as an electric returner, racking up over 3,500 yards between punt and kickoff returns.

After college, Breaston was drafted in the fifth round by the Arizona Cardinals where he spent four years.  He appeared in almost every game, and averaged 60 catches per season in the years following his rookie debut.  In 2011, Breaston signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and continued his solid receiving production with 61 catches for 785 yards.  But for some reason, Breaston's numbers fell off a cliff in 2012, and he struggled to even get on the field, finishing with only seven catches.

It seems unlikely that at only 30 years old and after years of consistent production that Breaston has nothing else left to offer.  Here's to betting that the 2012 season was just an outlier and that he will find a home with another NFL team in the not too distant future.