O.J. Brigance, Ravens senior adviser to player development, dies after long battle with ALS

O.J. Brigance, the former Baltimore Ravens player and the team’s longtime senior adviser to player development, has died after a long and courageous battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, the team announced on Monday. He was 56.

Brigance, a source of positivity and inspiration for Ravens players, coaches and executives past and present was diagnosed with ALS when he was 38, a few years after the end of his seven-year NFL career. He was told at the time he likely only had a few years to live, but he far surpassed the grim prognosis and continued to show up for work until his condition worsened in recent months.

“For 22 years, we’ve been blessed to have O.J. as a teammate, friend and brother. It’s a sad day, but also a celebration of all the gifts that O.J. bestowed upon our team and our city and the entire NFL community,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. “O.J. inspired us with humility, faithfulness, determination, competitiveness and love for humankind.

“We never once saw O.J. angry or frustrated by his disease. Instead, we all witnessed a hero who influenced so many people through his unwavering optimism and grit. O.J. Brigance is the definition of what it means to live like a Raven. I will miss his smile and the twinkle of joy in his eyes.”

Using a motorized wheelchair to get around and an eye-gaze device to communicate, Brigance was a fixture at Ravens practices and games over the years and frequently met with Ravens players and coaches to share words of encouragement. Countless Ravens told stories of Brigance reaching out to them during difficult periods of their careers to offer support.

“O.J. is a world-changer,” former Ravens star Ed Reed once said. Reed praised Brigance during his Hall of Fame speech in 2019.

Former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh frequently called Brigance the “strongest member of the organization.”

“O.J. Brigance was a great man. On behalf of Ingrid, Alison and our family, we extend our deepest condolences to the entire Brigance family,” Harbaugh said. “O.J. was a great friend to me, my wife and my daughter, and I will always treasure the time we shared with him.

“We loved him, and we respected him. He was a hero in our eyes. O.J. was a man of great faith who was given a very challenging purpose, and he met it perfectly in every way through the great glory of God. I look forward to seeing him again in heaven someday.”

A linebacker known for his special teams ability, Brigance played four seasons with the Miami Dolphins, parts of two seasons with the Rams and one season with the Ravens and New England Patriots. One of his career achievements was making the first tackle in the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV victory over the New York Giants following the 2000 regular season.

Brigance was also a decorated player in the Canadian Football League, registering 23 sacks for the BC Lions during the 1993 season and helping the Baltimore Stallions to a Grey Cup championship in 1995. He’s the only player to ever win a Super Bowl and a Grey Cup for the same city.

“I am devastated and at a loss for words. O.J. was one of the most genuine, sincere people I have ever known,” said Ravens executive vice president Ozzie Newsome. “From the moment he arrived in Baltimore, you could feel his energy. His amazing smile, welcoming nature and infectious personality made everyone around him feel like family. He was a hero to this city long before his courageous battle with ALS and became an even greater inspiration in the way he faced it with the same fight, faith and grace he brought to the football field.”

A Houston native who played his college ball at Rice, Brigance retired following the 2002 season. He returned to the Ravens in 2004 to help lead the team’s player development program. In May 2006, he was diagnosed with ALS, a progressive nervous system disease that causes the breakdown of motor neurons in the brain and the spinal cord that control muscles.

The disease left Brigance unable to walk or speak, but he continued to show up to work four or five times per week, serving as an inspiration for the ALS community.

Per the ALS Association, the average life expectancy for people with ALS is two to five years from the time of diagnosis. However, about 20 percent of the people battling the disease live five years or more, and up to 10 percent live for 10 years or longer.

Brigance and his wife Chanda raised millions of dollars through the Brigance Brigade Foundation, an organization that aimed to equip, encourage and empower families living with ALS.

“Each day is a gift to be lived out to purpose,” Brigance told The Athletic in 2019. “Every day that God opens my eyes, I know there is something that he wants me to accomplish.”