After fighting a rare and aggressive form of cancer, former NFL defensive end Bryan Braman, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, the team that won Super Bowl LII, passed away at the age of 38.
Sean P. Stellato, his agent, announced his passing on Thursday.
Two daughters are left behind by the Spokane, Washington native.
A journeyman edge rusher, Braman played mainly on special teams and once blocked a punt in a divisional-round playoff game. He attended three colleges prior to spells with the Houston Texas, Eagles, New Orleans Saints, and Eagles again.
His NFL career came to an end in February 2018 as the Eagles won Super Bowl LII.
A GoFundMe campaign to pay for Braman’s medical bills later disclosed his unidentified ailment, which was diagnosed in February. JJ Watt, a former teammate of his, gave $10,000 personally, while others, like Emmanuel Acho, shared the news on social media.
A June 20 update by organizer William Jones explained that “Bryan is home with his family after undergoing a Car-t cell reprogramming treatment program in Seattle.”
His cells began’reproducing within his bone marrow,’ and the Car-t cell reprogramming initially seemed to be successful, Jones said. However, Jones clarified, the “cancer started fighting back” as the mass started to diminish.
“Bryan has not given up,” Jones wrote. “He is looking into other trial treatment programs, and is determined to never give up.”
Braman received close to $90,000 from the GoFundMe effort.
“At Stellato Sports, Bryan Braman has always stood for strength, resilience and leadership,” Stellato told KPRC 2 in Houston prior to his death. “He is a pillar and a staple of the underdog.”
As a special teams player in Houston, Braman gained a somewhat cult following despite going undrafted out of Idaho in 2011. He blocked multiple punts, including one that was intended for a touchdown. In 2012, he was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate.
After moving on to Philadelphia in 2014 and New Orleans in 2017, Braman was injured and put on injured reserve before being allowed to return home.
That turned out to be fortunate for Braman, who joined the Eagles in December and then blocked a punt from Matt Bosher of the Atlanta Falcons in a 15-10 divisional-round playoff victory.
Later, in February 2018, Braman recorded one tackle in the Eagles’ 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Chris Long, a former teammate, believes that his greatest contributions to the Eagles may have occurred in the locker room.
“… we had a guy named Bryan Braman, special teams guy, looks like he’s in a biker gang, long hair,” Long told the Ryen Russillo podcast in 2020.
“Bryan Braman was an absolute psychopath and he was like our cameo speech guy. And sometimes he would just, real impromptu, start screaming and looking like a fucking hedgehog, knocking shit over in the locker room, eyes bulging out of his head.”
And, of course, he did look like a Sons of Anarchy dude so you were like, yeah, I’m listening. But Braman got going Super Bowl Sunday and I was like, “Yeah, you got it, bro.”
Since then, Braman has occasionally appeared in public at celebrity flag football or basketball games and had a cameo in a Jake Miller country music video.
Since the announcement of Braman’s passing, social media has been flooded with condolences. Fans of the Eagles in particular have been posting prayers and thoughts on the internet.
“Phenomenal human being and forever a champion,” one such fan wrote. “Rest in peace, Bryan.”
