Desmond Bishop

Desmond Lamont Bishop (born July 24, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL draft and later won Super Bowl XLV with the team over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bishop also played for the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers.

Bishop attended Fairfield High School in Fairfield, California. While at Fairfield he earned Second-team All-State from Calhisports.com. He played in the California North-South Shrine All-Star Game as a senior in 2002. He also lettered in basketball.

Bishop attended City College of San Francisco from 2003 to 2004. While there he was a two time letterman. In 2003 Bishop was on the team that won the national championship game that went 13–0. He was ranked by SuperPrep as the fourth-best community college player in the nation and was voted California's 2004 Junior College Defensive Player of the Year by the JC Athletic Bureau/California Community College Football Coaches Association. He was named the Northern California Conference Defensive Most Valuable Player and was a First-team JC Gridwire All-American. He finished the season with 118 tackles 10 regular games. In California's state championship game he had 14 tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss against the College of the Canyons.

Bishop immediately won a starting job upon his arrival at the University of California, Berkeley and picked up second-team All-Pac-10 honors. He started all 12 games at middle linebacker and led the Golden Bears with 89 tackles, one forced fumble, and two pass deflections. He made his Cal debut with seven solo tackles against Sacramento State. He ended the season with eight tackles, a pass break-up and a tackle for loss against BYU in the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl.

In 2006, Bishop started all 13 games and was a Third-team All-American choice by Rivals.com, earning honorable mention from The NFL Draft Report, and being placed on the Butkus Award watchlist. He won All-Pac-10 First-team accolades, leading the conference in tackles and leading his team for the second straight year with 126. Bishop became the first Cal player to lead the Pac-10 in tackles since Jerrott Willard posted 147 in 1993. He also had three sacks, a team-high 15 tackles for loss (fourth in Pac-10), two pass break-ups, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He had at least seven tackles in 11 of 13 games, and was in double digits five times. Bishop ended his career with 12 tackles, with one for loss, in 45–10 win over Texas A&M in 2006 Holiday Bowl.

The Green Bay Packers selected Bishop in the sixth round (192nd overall) of the 2007 NFL draft.

Bishop played in ten games for the Packers during his rookie season, making 10 tackles. During his second season Bishop made his first career start in a week 14 game against the Houston Texans, recording 12 tackles and a sack. He finished the season with 35 tackles.

After starting middle linebacker Nick Barnett went down with a season-ending wrist injury in Week 4 of the 2010 season, Bishop was quickly named Barnett's replacement and exceeded expectations. He started the remaining 12 games and finished the season with 103 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumble and 1 interception, which was returned for a touchdown. He was a starter and also recovered a crucial fumble in Super Bowl XLV, after Clay Matthews knocked the ball loose from Rashard Mendenhall, which was a key play in the Packers' 31–25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.