Willie Middlebrooks

{{Short description|American football player (born 1979)}}

{{distinguish|text=baseball player Will Middlebrooks or English cricketer Willie Middlebrook}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Use American English|date=April 2024}}

{{Infobox gridiron football person

| name = Willie Middlebrooks

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|02|12}}

| birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| team =

| number = 23, 25

| status = Retired

| import = yes

| position1 = cornerback

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 1

| weight_lb = 200

| college = Minnesota

| NFLDraftedYear = 2001

| NFLDraftedRound = 1

| NFLDraftedPick = 24

| NFLDraftedTeam = Denver Broncos

| playing_years1 = 2001–2004

| playing_team1 = Denver Broncos

| playing_years2 = 2005

| playing_team2 = San Francisco 49ers

| playing_years3 = 2006

| playing_team3 = Denver Broncos*

| playing_years4 = 2008–2010

| playing_team4 = Toronto Argonauts

| career_highlights =

• First-team All-Big Ten (2000)
• Second-team All-Big Ten (1999)

| honors =

| CFL = 1633

| NFL = MID174366

| career_footnotes = *Offseason and/or practice squad member only

}}

Willie Frank Middlebrooks{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MiddWi20.htm|title = Willie Middlebrooks Stats|website = Pro-Football-Reference.com}} (born February 12, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL).

Middlebrooks was named first-team all-state as a senior at Homestead High School in Homestead, Florida. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In 1999, he was named Second-Team All-Big Ten. In 2000, he was named First-Team All-Big Ten Conference, but missed the final four games of the season with a fractured ankle. Prior to the 2001 NFL Draft, he was regarded as the best man-coverage player in the Big Ten, with speculation that he would be drafted in the first round, despite his recent injury.

He was the 24th overall pick of the Denver Broncos in the 2001 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2001 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2001/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He began his career with the Broncos, then played for the San Francisco 49ers before returning to Denver in 2006.

Middlebrooks signed as a free agent with the Argonauts on April 28, 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.argonauts.ca/index.php/roster/show/id/1633|title=Willie Middlebrooks #23 Defensive Back|work=Roster|publisher=Toronto Argonauts Football Club|access-date=2008-06-21|archive-date=2008-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615011350/http://argonauts.ca/index.php/roster/show/id/1633|url-status=dead}} He was named defensive player of Week One of the 2008 CFL season with nine tackles and an interception of a long pass from Winnipeg's Kevin Glenn near the end of the fourth quarter.{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=37c1da58-6430-4ad0-835f-48f025b85836|title=Calvillo takes top offensive honours|date=2008-07-03|publisher=Montreal Gazette|access-date=2008-07-04}}

On June 1, 2011, Middlebrooks announced his retirement after sustaining a serious neck injury he received nearing the end of the 2010 CFL season. {{cite web|title=Argos' Lemon Unfazed About Having to Compete for Starting Job|url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=367601|publisher=TSN}}