Ryan Longwell

Ryan Longwell
No. 7, 8
Position: Kicker
Personal information
Date of birth: August 16, 1974
Place of birth: Seattle, Washington
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school: Bend (OR)
College: California
Undrafted: 1997
Career history
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • NFC champion (1997)
Career NFL statistics
Field Goals Made: 361
Field Goals Attempted: 434
Field Goals %: 83.2
Long Field Goal: 55
Points scored: 1,687
Stats at NFL.com

Ryan Walker Longwell (born August 16, 1974[1]) is a retired American football kicker. After playing college football for the California Golden Bears, he started his professional football career with the San Francisco 49ers, but never played a game for the franchise. He then played for the Green Bay Packers from 1997 to 2005. He played for the Minnesota Vikings from 2006 to 2011. He also played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks during the 2012 playoffs.

Early years

Longwell attended high school in Bend, Oregon, where he played high school football for Bend High School's Lava Bears.[1] A three-year letter winner in football as a kicker, Longwell also was the team's back-up quarterback.[1] He also played baseball as a third baseman, earning three letters in that sport.[1] He earned all-conference honors in both sports.[1]

In 1993, he started college at the University of California, Berkeley where he played football and earned four varsity letters.[1] At California he served as both a punter and placekicker for the team, earning all-conference honors in the Pac-10 his senior year as a punter and second team honors as a kicker.[1] Longwell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.[1]

Professional football

Longwell was acquired by the Green Bay Packers off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers in 1997. With the Packers, Longwell played in Super Bowl XXXII, where he kicked one field goal and three extra points in their 31-24 loss to the Denver Broncos. He signed a free agent contract with the Vikings in the 2006 offseason.

In his second game with the Minnesota Vikings, Longwell had one of the best performances of his career. He was responsible for all 16 of the Vikings points in a 16-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, kicking three field goals (including the game winning field goal in overtime) and throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal play in the fourth quarter. In the 2008 season finale against the New York Giants, he kicked a 50 yard field goal with no time left to help the Vikings clinch the division in a 20-19 victory.

During the 2010 offseason, Longwell, a close friend of Brett Favre, became a sort of unofficial spokesman for Favre, as the media frequently questioned him on whether Favre would return to the Vikings or retire. When Longwell picked Favre up at the airport in Minnesota on August 17, 2010, TV station helicopters followed Longwell's SUV all the way to Vikings headquarters.[2]

On January 8, 2013, Longwell was signed by the Seattle Seahawks after Steven Hauschka suffered a calf injury.[3]

On August 12, 2013, the Green Bay Packers announced that Longwell will retire from the NFL as a Packer.[4]

Records

Family

Longwell is the cousin of 1992 and 1996 Olympic athlete Michael Orr.[1] He is married to Sarah Longwell, and they have two children, Shaye and Reece.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Ryan Longwell NFLPA.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp10/news/story?id=5470904
  3. ↑ Hanzus, Dan (2013-01-08). "Ryan Longwell to sign with Seattle Seahawks". National Football League. Retrieved 2013-01-08.
  4. ↑ "K Ryan Longwell retires as a Packer". Packers.com. August 12, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.

External links

Preceded by
Chris Jacke		 Green Bay Packers Starting Kickers
1997-2005 		Succeeded by
Dave Rayner