Jake Brendel


Jacob William Brendel is an American football center for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He played college football at UCLA. Brendel was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Early life

A native of Plano, Texas, Brendel attended Plano East Senior High School, where he played on the offensive line his junior and senior seasons and served as team captain, after playing defensive line as a freshman and sophomore. Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Brendel was listed as the No. 15 center prospect in his class.

College career

After redshirting his initial year at UCLA, Brendel became a fixture at center after spring practice and started all 14 games for the Bruins in 2012. He was named first-team Freshman All-America by The Sporting News, CBSSports.com, and Football Writers Association of America, and second-team Freshman All-America by College Football News. As a junior in 2014, he was team's most experienced offensive lineman. After missing the season opener against Virginia with a knee injury, he returned to start the rest of the season. Brendel was named to the All-Pac-12 second team. He requested an evaluation of his NFL draft stock, but decided to return for his senior year, when he again earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors. The three-time team captain finished his UCLA career with a school record of 52 starts. Brendel graduated from UCLA in Spring 2015 with a degree in Business Economics. He was named to the first-team All-Pac 12 Academic team.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

After going undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, Brendel signed with the Dallas Cowboys on May 6, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Cowboys. The next day, he was signed to the Cowboys' practice squad. He was released from the practice squad with an injury settlement.

Miami Dolphins

On October 12, 2016, Brendel was signed to the Miami Dolphins' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 19, 2016.
On September 2, 2018, Brendel was placed on injured reserve. He was activated off injured reserve on November 2, 2018. He played in four games, starting three at left guard and center due to injuries, before being placed back on injured reserve on December 12, 2018.

Denver Broncos

On April 18, 2019, Brendel signed with the Denver Broncos. He was released on August 31, 2019.

Baltimore Ravens

On November 27, 2019, Brendel was signed by the Baltimore Ravens, but was released three days later.

San Francisco 49ers

On February 7, 2020, Brendel was signed by the San Francisco 49ers.