Kyle Eckel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Eckel runs for a touchdown in Navy's homecoming game against Delaware |
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| New England Patriots — No. 38 | |
| Fullback | |
| Date of birth: December 30, 1981 | |
| Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | Weight: 237 lb (108 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
|---|---|
| 2007 for the New England Patriots | |
| Career history | |
| College: Navy | |
| Undrafted in 2005 | |
Teams:
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
Kyle Eckel (born December 30, 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American football fullback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. The Patriots originally signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Navy.
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[edit] High school years
Eckel attended Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was a student and a letterman in football and baseball. In football, he was a two-time first team All-Area and All-League selection and as a senior, also garnered first team All-City honors.
[edit] College career
Eckel attended the Naval Academy and, going into his senior year, was ranked as a preseason All-American and the top NFL fullback prospect in the country by draftboardinsider.com. He rushed for 1,147 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior, notably rushing 26 times for a career-high 179 yards and one touchdown against Army en route to being named the Philadelphia Sportswriters Most Valuable Player of the Army-Navy game for the second consecutive year. Eckel collected 13-career 100-yard rushing games, the fourth most in school history, and became just the third player in school history to twice gain 1,000 yards rushing in a single season. He finished his career with 2,906 rushing yards, which ranks fourth all-time at Navy, and registered 25 career rushing touchdowns, the fourth most in school history. He majored in Economics.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] New England Patriots
Eckel was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent on April 26, 2005. He was waived by the team on September 3 and was claimed by the Miami Dolphins before the Patriots could place him on their practice squad.
[edit] Miami Dolphins
Eckel was placed on the Reserve/Military list on September 7, 2005 - just days after being claimed by the Miami Dolphins. He continued to serve the Navy until October 31, 2006. A spokesman for the Navy described the separation as an involuntary "administrative separation"[1] from the service, and Eckel told the Miami Herald that he "was given the opportunity to submit a letter of resignation, which was accepted."[2][3]
The Dolphins received a roster exemption from the league for Eckel in 2006 (so he could practice with the team, so long as he was not added to the active roster). He was not activated during the season, and was an exclusive rights free agent in the 2007 offseason. He was re-signed to a one-year contract on March 19, 2007, but released on September 1 during final cuts.
[edit] Return to New England
Eckel was signed to the Patriots' practice squad on 2007-09-03.[4] He was promoted to the active roster on October 1 when starting running back Laurence Maroney was ruled out for that night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Eckel made his regular season debut in that Monday Night Football contest, playing on special teams for much of the game and getting his first carry (for three yards) in the fourth quarter. He scored his first NFL touchdown in the final minute of the Patriots' Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys, and a second in their Week 10 rout of the Buffalo Bills.
[edit] Legal issues
In late 2006 in Anne Arundel County District Court, Eckel was charged with two counts of assault-and-battery and one charge of sexual assault. The charges were dropped by November 2006. According to Navy spokesmen, the charges had no bearing on Eckel's dismissal from service.[1]
