O.J. Brigance’s name will always carry weight in Baltimore, where he became a Super Bowl champion, a respected front-office presence and a source of inspiration for Ravens greats like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. But the NFL path that led him there started much earlier, with a four-year run in Miami that helped launch a seven-year playing career.
Brigance has died at 56 after a 19-year battle with ALS, the disease that eventually left him in a motorized wheelchair and robbed him of his voice. He was diagnosed at 37 and was initially told he might have five years to live.
His first NFL opportunity came in 1996 with the Dolphins, and it was opened by coach Jimmy Johnson. Johnson’s early roster decisions included releasing linebacker Aubrey Beavers, a second-round pick just two years earlier, to create more room for Brigance and rookie Zach Thomas. That was a gamble, especially for a player who had gone undrafted out of Rice and spent several seasons in the Canadian Football League.
Brigance reached out in May 1996 to Bob Ackles, Miami’s director of football operations, who had ties to one of Brigance’s former coaches, Don Matthews. Brigance knew exactly what he brought to the table.
“I knew coach Johnson appreciated guys who just went out and played,” Brigance once told The Palm Beach Post. “I knew size wasn’t such a big thing.”
Johnson liked what he saw.
“He slipped through our fingers in Dallas,” Johnson said. “We’re looking for linebackers who are going to be active. And he’s a very intelligent player.”
Brigance’s time in Miami lasted through the 1999 season, and it nearly ended in alarming fashion that spring. He was hurt during May minicamp, and when his condition worsened to the point that he could not walk, the Dolphins ordered an MRI that showed stenosis, described as a narrowing of his spinal column, along with a herniated disk. Doctors warned that his career could be finished, but surgery in June turned up no stenosis and only mild disk damage.
“Through Jesus Christ I can overcome the world,” Brigance said.
He later spent just one season in Baltimore, in 2000, but it was the season that defined him for many fans. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens and even made the tackle on the opening kickoff of the title game. He finished his playing career in 2002 and then moved into the Ravens’ front office, working in player engagement and becoming a familiar, beloved presence during his illness.
Brigance’s fight with ALS unfolded publicly and with extraordinary grace. He was unable to speak in later years, but he communicated through eye-tracking technology.
The impact he had on teammates was unmistakable. In his Hall of Fame speech in 2019, Reed told Brigance, “You’re the reason why I’m here, man. You’re the reason I became a great professional.”
Lewis also described Brigance as his greatest motivation.
Baltimore wasn’t even the first place where Brigance made his mark. Before joining the Dolphins, he spent two seasons with the Baltimore Stallions, losing the Grey Cup in his first year and then beating Doug Flutie and the Calgary Stampeders the next season. That championship game brought All-CFL honors, plus 10 tackles and a blocked punt from Brigance.
Even then, Baltimore’s attention was split. The city was preparing for the return of an NFL team after losing the Colts, and the relocation of the Cleveland Browns was being announced at the same time.
“We’re making the run for the Grey Cup, we’re in the Southern Division championship game, and they make an announcement that the Browns are coming,” Brigance said. “It just seemed like everything about the Stallions was dropped. But they’re great people there, great fans.”
After that Grey Cup, the Ravens brought Brigance in for a workout. The details of what happened next were unclear, but his route eventually took him to South Florida before he found his lasting place in Baltimore.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in a statement: "We are devastated by the awful news that we have lost O.J. Brigance," Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in a statement.
"O.J. was a beloved legend, mentor and man to everyone who was fortunate enough to know him. His infectious smile and the inspirational way he lived and played endeared him to everyone he touched, both inside our building and across this city.
This is a tremendously sad day for Baltimore."
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