Detroit Lions' Brandon Copeland dangerous, determined in comeback

Brandon Copeland went through the five stages of grief when he tore his pectoral muscle in the Detroit Lions’ preseason opener last August.

When he finally accepted the reality that his season was over, Copeland vowed to make 2018 his best year yet.

“My fiancée at the time, she’s my wife now, I’m two weeks out of surgery and I’m on a treadmill with a sling, ‘You’re not supposed to be doing that,’” Copeland said. “I’m biking. I’m a day out of surgery and I’m handling other off-the-field business stuff. I just know one mode, so I laugh at any doubt cause I love it. … It's kind of special and memorable when you prove people wrong and I love it. I’ve been doing it my whole life and I’m happy to do it again.”

Copeland’s resolve comes from his rags-to-riches path to the NFL.

He’s signed 10 different contracts with three teams since going undrafted out of Penn in 2013. He’s been cut five times, and three years ago he needed a strong showing at the veteran combine just to keep his NFL dream alive. And last year, after carving out a niche on special teams, he appeared on the verge of expanding his role on defense when he suffered his injury.

At the time, Copeland was competing for the starting strong-side linebacker spot while also taking reps at defensive end.

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When he first got hurt, Copeland retreated to his home in New Jersey and said he found it difficult to watch Lions games while wishing he could be out on the field “fighting with your brothers.”

“Once you get through surgery then you mentally prepare for, ‘OK, what’s my comeback look like? How am I going to do this? What’s going to motivate me every day because I have months to just sit here and watch people play?’” Copeland said. “And literally, for me, it was I’m always just hungry. I’m always hungry and I’m already here and understand that people will probably doubt that Brandon Copeland will ever play another snap in the NFL. But like I told my mother and other people who kind of look at stuff, I told her, I’m in a much better situation now versus coming as an undrafted player out of the University of Pennsylvania.”

Copeland has established himself as a bonafide NFL player and special-teams standout, one who was secure enough in his job that Lions special-teams coordinator Joe Marciano penciled him in for just one coverage rep in that preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts.

His future is up the in the air, though, as a restricted free agent who might be too pricey for his old team to keep. The low tender will be about $1.8 million.

"I hope I’ve made an impression in Detroit and would love to be back playing in the Honolulu blue," Copeland said. "But at this point for me and my career and who I am as a person, I’m just happy to put on a uniform and whoop somebody. So I’m literally foaming at the mouth and can’t wait to get back out there. And I think Detroit knows what they’re getting in me."

Speaking at the Super Bowl earlier this month, Copeland said he was excited about the Lions' hiring of Matt Patricia and what it might mean for his future.

He recently married his long-time girlfriend, the couple left for their honeymoon to Thailand last week, and when football starts back up in April, Copeland vowed to be the “most dangerous person on the field."

“I’ve always been a guy, I’m going to do whatever Coach wants me to do, whatever the team wants me to do and that’s one thing that’s always kept me around in the NFL,” he said. “But I love being able to do multiple things. I love looking at the Patriots defense and seeing how guys are put in a position to succeed and that put you in position. They like Swiss army knives like myself.”

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!