Kevin Curtis

Kevin Curtis

Curtis in August 2009.
Free Agent
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1978-07-17) July 17, 1978
Place of birth: Murray, Utah
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 186 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College: Utah State
NFL Draft: 2003 / Round: 3 / Pick: 74
Debuted in 2003 for the St. Louis Rams
Career history
St. Louis Rams (2003–2006) Philadelphia Eagles (2007–2009) Miami Dolphins (2010) Kansas City Chiefs (2010) Tennessee Titans (2011)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009
Receptions 252 Receiving yards 3,291 Receiving average 13.1 Receiving TDs 20 Stats at NFL.com

Kevin DeeVon Curtis (born July 17, 1978) is an American football wide receiver who most recently was a member of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah State.

Curtis has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs.

Early years

Curtis attended Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah and was a letterman in football and basketball. In football, he was an All-Region honoree as both, a wide receiver and as a defensive back.

College career

Curtis began his collegiate career at NJCAA junior college powerhouse Snow College where he earned Second-Team All-America Honors. He then transferred to Utah State.

Curtis started his Utah State career as a walk-on. As a junior he led the nation in receptions, earning him third-team All-America honors. Kevin also broke many Utah State single-season records along the way including pass receptions (100), receiving yards (1,531), most 10-reception games (6), most 100-yard receiving games (9), and most consecutive 100-yard receiving games (6). He was also named his team's Offensive MVP. His tremendous play as a junior earned him a scholarship for his senior year where he ranked seventh in the nation in receiving yards per game (114.36), and 12th in the country in receptions per game (6.73). He also led the Aggies with 74 receptions (fifth-best season total in school history) for 1,258 yards (fifth-best in a single season) and scored 60 points to lead the team with an average of 117.4 all-purpose yards a game. In only two years at Utah State he ended his career leading in many statistical categories including career receptions (174), career pass reception yards per game (126.8), career pass receptions per game (7.9), and finished second in career receiving yards (2,789). He was teammates with Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Curtis ran a hand-timed 40 yard dash of 4.21 but a 4.35 at the NFL Combine; at the Combine, he scored a 48 out of a possible 50 points on the Wonderlic intelligence test. This is tied for the highest verified score among active players (Ryan Fitzpatrick and Benjamin Watson also scored 48). The only two players that scored higher on the Wonderlic Test were Pat McInally with a perfect 50 and Mike Mamula with a 49.^[1]

St. Louis Rams

Curtis was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 3rd round (74th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. Curtis was inactive for the first five games of 2003 after suffering a broken fibula in the final preseason game at Buffalo. In 2004, Curtis played in all but one game, totaling 32 catches for 421 yards and 2 touchdowns. He recorded his first 100-yard game on October 30, 2005 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, when he was filling in for starter Torry Holt. He finished the game with 105 yards. Curtis became the 2nd player in NFL history to have two back-to-back 100-yard receiving games in the playoffs before ever recording one in the regular season. Pittsburgh's Ernie Mills was the other, Curtis did in the 2004 playoffs. In tying the record Curtis caught seven passes for 128 yards and a 57-yard TD in the NFC divisional playoff at Atlanta on January 15, 2005. The week before in the NFC Wild Card game at Seattle he caught 4 passes for 107 yards as Rams advanced. In 2005 as the Rams slot wide receiver he caught then-career highs in receptions (60), yds. (801), and TDs (6) In 2006, Curtis was again the number three wide receiver for the Rams behind Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.

Philadelphia Eagles

Curtis in August 2009.

On March 15, 2007 Curtis signed a 6-year, $32 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, including $9.5 million in guaranteed money.^[3] Curtis spent his whole career behind potential Hall of Famers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Now, free from their shadow, he set career highs in his first year with the Eagles and finished the year with 1,110 yards, 77 receptions and 6 touchdowns. He was the eleventh receiver all time for the Eagles to reach over one thousand yard receiving and second under Andy Reid.

Curtis had his best game on September 23, 2007 in the first half of a 56-21 Eagles win over the Detroit Lions. His nine catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns tied Lee Evans for the most receiving yards during the first half of a game since 1987, when Steve Largent had 224 yards during a replacement game.^[4] Curtis finished the day with 11 catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns.^[5] He became the first player in NFL history to recover his own team's fumble for a touchdown in back-to-back games when he fell on Reggie Brown's fumble in the 3rd quarter against the Buffalo Bills on December 30, 2007. He recovered a McNabb fumble for a score a week earlier at the New Orleans Saints on December 23, 2007. With his 77 receptions in 2007, became just the 4th wide receiver in Eagles history to record 75-or-more catches in a single season, joining Irving Fryar (88 in 1996, 86 in 1997), Fred Barnett (78 in 1994), and Terrell Owens (77 in 2004).

In 2008, Curtis only played 9 games in the season due to injury. He had surgery on August 21, 2008 to repair a sports hernia and was inactive for the first six games of the season. He was also inactive at Washington on December 21, 2008, with a calf strain. However, he had highlights against Cleveland, Curtis caught 4 receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. In the season Curtis caught 33 balls for 390 yards, and two touchdowns. He led the team with 122 receiving yards on four catches in the NFC Championship game at Arizona on January 18, 2009, which tied a franchise postseason record among wide receivers (tight end Keith Jackson, 122 yards at Chicago, 12/31/88; Terrell Owens, 122 yards vs. New England 2/6/05)

In 2009, Curtis had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and has missed twelve games of the 2009 season. He became active again in week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Curtis was released by the Eagles on March 18, 2010.^[6] He later attended workouts for the Giants and Lions but was not offered a contract.

Miami Dolphins

Curtis was signed by the Miami Dolphins on December 13, 2010. He had 6 receiving yards and 6 rushing yards. On December 28, 2010 he was released by the Dolphins.

Kansas City Chiefs

Curtis signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on January 5, 2011. He became an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Tennessee Titans

On August 26, 2011, he signed with the Tennessee Titans. Curtis was placed on injured reserve after injuring his hand prior to the regular season and official released on September 13, 2011.

Personal

Curtis is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also known as the Mormon faith; after high school, he served a two-year Mormon mission in London, England.

On September 23, 2010, Curtis received an orchiectomy due to testicular cancer, at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.^[7]

References

External links

• Philadelphia Eagles bio