JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars have traded their 2018 seventh-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for two-time Pro Bowler and 10th-year LT Branden Albert, the club announced today.
“Branden Albert is a Pro Bowl player who instantly impacts our team,” said Jaguars General Manager Dave Caldwell. “Branden has played 120 games over the last nine seasons and has a lot of great football ahead of him. His consistency, leadership and on-field performance were all key factors in our desire to acquire Branden from the Dolphins. We look forward to him getting started in Jacksonville.”
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Albert, 6-5, 314, has started 118 of 120 career games since originally being selected by Kansas City with the 15th overall pick in the 2008 Draft. Albert started 83 of 85 games during his six seasons with the Chiefs. Following the 2013 season, during which Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles totaled 1,980 all-purpose yards, Albert was selected to his first Pro Bowl and, after entering free agency, signed a five-year contract with the Miami Dolphins on March 11, 2014.
“Brandon is an experienced left tackle,” said Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone. “He will compete for the starting role and has proven over his 120-game career that he has the mental and physical tools to excel in this league. The play of the offensive and defensive line will be of significant importance to our organization’s success and the acquisition of Branden Albert is a step in that direction.”
After appearing in nine games in his first season with Miami, Albert was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Nov. 10, 2014. Albert returned to form in 2015, starting 14 games, and was named to his second Pro Bowl after the Dolphins combined to rush for 1,496 yards and 11 TDs. According to the Dolphins, Albert was only penalized three times and only allowed 3.0 sacks during the 2016 season when he started 12 games at LT. Albert was part of an offensive line that helped Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark (1,272) for the first time in his career and set career highs in rushing attempts (260), rushing average (4.9) and rushing TDs (eight). Albert also started at LT and helped Ajayi rush for a career-high 214 yards, the third most in a single game in Dolphins history, on Oct. 23 vs. Buffalo.
Albert, 32, was the recipient of the Dolphins’ Ed Block Courage Award in 2015 after returning from knee injury and became just the fifth Dolphins’ OL to win the award, given annually to players in the NFL who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship and courage. Albert was heavily involved in the Miami community and created “Albert’s Einstein’s”, a program where he donated tickets, food vouchers, t-shirts and parking for each home game to local charities.
Albert attended the University of Virginia and was a three-year starter for the Cavaliers, starting in all 37 career appearances. Following his junior season in 2007, Albert was named a first-team All-ACC performer and declared for the NFL Draft. He attended Glen Burnie (Md.) High School and played both DT and OT during his junior and senior seasons. Albert also starred on the school’s basketball team, averaging 15.5 points and 10.6 rebounds en route to All-Metro honors as a senior. Albert was born on Nov. 4, 1984 in Rochester, N.Y.