Brandon Jerome Mebane MEE-bane;[1] (born January 15, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He attended Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles. He played college football for the California Golden Bears. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft. He also played in the NFL for the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers.
Mebane played four seasons at the University of California, Berkeley, recording 109 tackles, 25.5 tackles for a loss, 14.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery for the Golden Bears.
Mebane was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round, 85th overall of the 2007 NFL draft, and on July 24, he signed a four-year contract.[4] In his rookie season, he played all 16 games and recorded 29 tackles including two sacks. 2008 was a promising year for Mebane as he again played all 16 games and recorded 39 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. With the departure of Rocky Bernard, Mebane was expected to make a big impact for the Seahawks in 2009 in which he started 15 games and recorded 49 tackles and 1.5 sacks. For the 2010 season Mebane started the first four games but suffered a calf injury and was forced to sit out the next four games. In the first four games, he had 8 tackles and 1 sack.
Mebane has been a constant in the middle and helped the 2013–2014 Seahawks defense reach dominant heights, as they had one of the best seasons in NFL history. The Seahawks eventually won Super Bowl XLVIII against the Denver Broncos, 43–8.[5] Mebane, along with defensive linemen Red Bryant, center Max Unger and punter Jon Ryan, were the only four holdovers on the Super Bowl winning team roster from pre-Carroll/Schneider era.
Fellow Seahawks teammate Richard Sherman was quoted as saying of Mebane: "He's an incredibly technical player in his movements and everything he does. He's rarely out of position and he's rarely out of the play. You rarely see a defensive tackle running making tackles on the sideline, or [making] tackles on screen plays. He does all that. But once again, he's overlooked because I guess he's not a big sack-total guy. He's just a guy that does his job incredibly well week in and week out."[6]
With the Seahawks Mebane anchored the middle of the defensive line for the all-time great Legion of Boom defense.
On March 9, 2016, Mebane signed a three-year contract with the San Diego Chargers.[7]
On September 5, 2016, Mebane was named one of the San Diego Chargers team captains for the 2016 season.[8] He was placed on injured reserve on November 14, 2016, with a torn bicep.[9]
On March 13, 2019, Mebane re-signed with the Chargers on a two-year contract.[10]
Mebane was released on March 13, 2020.[11]
On November 20, 2020, Mebane announced his retirement from professional football.[12]
