Dré Bly

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Dré Bly
Date of birth	May 22, 1977 (age 29)
Place of birth	Chesapeake, Virginia
Position(s)	Cornerback
College	North Carolina
NFL Draft	1999 / Round 2/ Pick 41
Statistics	CBS.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1999-2002 2003-2006 2007-present	St. Louis Rams Detroit Lions Denver Broncos

Donald André Bly (born May 22, 1977 in Chesapeake, Virginia), better known as Dré Bly, is an American football player. He is currently a cornerback in the National Football League recently acquired by the Denver Broncos. Bly graduated from Western Branch High in Chesapeake. In high school, he was an all-state football player as well as a decorated baseball player. After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Bly was drafted by the St. Louis Rams with the 41st pick overall in the 2nd round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He has cited Deion Sanders as one of his childhood idols.

In his freshman season at UNC, Bly received all-American honors. He is only one of five players in NCAA history to achieve this honor (Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Bjorn Merten, and Marshall Faulk being the others) [1]. Bly was the only football player in UNC and ACC history to receive consensus 1st team All-America honors three times in his college career. In his sophomore year, he was one of three finalists for the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Year Award.

In 2003, Bly left the St. Louis Rams and signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions. He has made the Pro Bowl in each of his two seasons with the team.

On November 29, 2005, the day after Lions head coach Steve Mariucci was fired, Bly told the NFL Network that if their quarterback Jeff Garcia had been healthy the entire season, that the Lions would be in a better situation, and Mariucci would still be coaching the team. Bly also cited QB Joey Harrington as the main reason Mariucci was fired. He has since apologized, albeit not to Harrington.

On March 1, 2007, Bly was traded by the Detroit Lions to the Denver Broncos for running back Tatum Bell, offensive tackle George Foster, and a 5th round draft pick.

On March 28, 2007, the Denver Broncos and Bly agreed to a 5-year, $33 million contract. The contract includes $18 million in bonus money and $16 million guaranteed. [2]