Players

HOW ACQUIRED:

Signed as an unrestricted free agent from Atlanta on March 7, 2007. Originally the 30th overall selection by the Falcons in the 1999 NFL Draft.

NFL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Named to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and 2007. Also named AP All-Pro first-team for the first time in career in 2007.

• Started all 16 games for the seventh time in career in 2007, posting career-highs with 14.5 sacks (1st NFC, 2nd NFL)  and five forced fumbles. It was the most sacks by a Seahawks player since 1998 (Michael Sinclair, 16.5).

• Named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November 2007 when he tallied 16 tackles (15 solo), 7.0 sacks, one interception and three forced fumbles in four games.

• Tied his career high of 3.0 sacks three times in 2007. Became the first player since Indianapolis’ Dwight Freeney (December 5-12, 2004) to record back-to-back 3+ sack games (11/18/07 vs. Chi.-11/25/07 at St. Louis). Also had 3.0 sacks vs. Arizona (12/9/07).

• Posted career-highs in tackles in 2002 with 104 (54 solo) and picked up a fumble recovery and scored the first touchdown of his career on a four-yard return vs. Baltimore (11/3/02).

• Named the NFC's Defensive Player of the Month for September 2004.

• Streak of seven games with at least a half- sack lasted almost two months as it began vs. San Francisco (10/14/01) and ended vs. New Orleans (12/9/01).

• Injured shoulder at San Francisco (10/26/08) and placed on injured reserve (11/19/08).

• Suffered a torn pectoral vs. Cleveland (11/12/06) and placed on injured reserve a week later.

HONORS:

2007:

NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November, NFC Pro Bowl, First-team All-Pro (AP), All-NFL (Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers of America), All-NFC (Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers of America).

2004:

NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September, NFC Pro Bowl.

COLLEGE:

Amassed 127 tackles and 24 sacks in his three-year career at Virginia. All-America first-team selection as a senior by Football News and was the first UVA lineman to earn national honors since Chris Slade in 1992. Also earned first-team All-ACC honors as he amassed 62 tackles and 15 sacks. The 15 sacks tied the school-record set by Slade (1992). Registered 45 tackles with eight sacks as a junior. Played as a defenseman on Virginia's lacrosse team in 1996-97. The Cavaliers advanced to the championship game of the 1996 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament, losing to Princeton 13-12, in overtime. Played again in the 1997 NCAA playoffs as UVA lost in the quarterfinals to Maryland (10-9). Did not participate in 1996 spring football practice in order to compete on the lacrosse team.

PERSONAL:

Four-year starter at Taft (Conn.) High and was voted team captain and Most Valuable Player as a senior as he played linebacker and offensive guard. Posted a career-high 84 tackles, three sacks, one interception and a blocked punt as a junior. Earned two letters in wrestling as a heavyweight and placed second at the All-New England Tournament. His father, John, played hockey at Middlebury College and his grandfather played football at Cornell. Participated in the 2006 NFL/USO Tour, in which he joined Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Max Starks and Seattle Seahawks end Bryce Fisher on a 12-day visit to U.S. military bases in the Balkans and Persian Gulf. While with Atlanta, participated in the Toys for Tots campaign, creating a public service announcement and collecting toys for kids at a holiday event he hosted each year. Established and raises money for the Lt. Thomas L. Kerney Endowment Fund, which was named after his brother who was a police officer killed in the line of duty. The fund provides scholarships for children of fallen police officers in Georgia and South Carolina. Currently a licensed pilot. Majored in history.