Larry Brooks spent his entire NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams after they selected him in the 14th round out of Virginia State in 1972. He became a defensive tackle starter early in his rookie season and held that role for most of the next decade. Brooks was a steady interior presence on a defense that often featured bigger names around him, yet he regularly ranked among the team’s top tacklers and disrupted quarterbacks before sacks became an official statistic.

His best statistical season came in 1976, when he recorded 14.5 sacks, tying for the team lead and ranking among the league’s better marks that year. Brooks earned his first Pro Bowl selection that season and followed it with four more consecutive trips from 1977 through 1980. He was named First-Team All-Pro in 1979 after leading the Rams’ defensive line in tackles while adding six sacks. Those years coincided with some of the franchise’s strongest defensive units, which regularly ranked near the top of the league in points and yards allowed.

Brooks remained the primary starter through the late 1970s as the Rams reached the playoffs multiple times. In 1979 he played in Super Bowl XIV against the Pittsburgh Steelers despite an ankle injury, helping Los Angeles reach the title game for the first time. He continued to contribute in 1980 with another Pro Bowl nod and solid sack production before injuries limited him in the following seasons.

He appeared in his final games in 1982 and retired afterward. With the Rams, he played 131 games and started most of them. Unofficial sack totals put him over 74 for his career, a strong number for an interior lineman of that era who also handled run-stopping duties.

His five Pro Bowl selections and All-Pro recognition show the respect he earned from peers and coaches, even if he was sometimes overshadowed by more colorful teammates on the same defensive line. Brooks gave the Rams a reliable and productive defensive tackle who stayed effective for more than a decade.