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Kyle Eckel

Eckel runs for a touchdown in Navy's homecoming game against Delaware
No. --     Free Agent
Fullback
Personal information
Date of birth: December 30, 1981 (1981-12-30) (age 28)
Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	Weight: 237 lb (108 kg)
Career information
College: Navy
Undrafted in 2005
Debuted in 2007 for the New England Patriots
Career history
As player: New England Patriots (2005)* Miami Dolphins (2005–2007)* New England Patriots (2007–2008) Philadelphia Eagles (2008) New Orleans Saints (2009) *Inactive and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Unrestricted Free Agent
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl Champion (XLIV)
Career NFL statistics as of 2009
Rushing yards	175
Rushing average	3.0
Rushing TDs	2
Stats at NFL.com

Kyle Eckel (born December 30, 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American football fullback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Navy.

Eckel has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.

Early years

After attending Holy Spirit School in South Philadelphia throughout his elementary school life, Eckel's parents changed parishes and he graduated from St. Denis School in Havertown, Pa, 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.

College career

Eckel attended the Naval Academy and was ranked as a preseason All-American and the top NFL fullback prospect in the country by draftboardinsider.com prior to his senior season at the Academy. 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.

Professional career

First stint with 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.

Miami Dolphins

Eckel was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins and subsequently placed on the Reserve/Military list on September 7, 2005 - just days after being claimed by the Dolphins.

The Dolphins received a roster exemption for Eckel after his return to the team, allowing him to practice without counting against roster limits. 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, 2007 during final cuts.

Second stint with Patriots

Eckel was signed to the Patriots' practice squad on September 3, 2007,^[1] at a salary of $125,000, significantly higher than that season's base salary for practice squad players ($79,900).^[2] 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.

The Patriots released Eckel on August 26, 2008, in the first round of preseason cuts. He was re-signed to the Patriots roster on September 15, 2008, the day after their Week 2 game. The Patriots again released Eckel on September 22, 2008.

Philadelphia Eagles

Eckel was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles on October 21, 2008. He was waived on September 5, 2009.

New Orleans Saints

On October 29, 2009 the New Orleans Saints announced that they had signed Eckel to their roster, replacing their starting fullback Heath Evans, who suffered a season-ending injury. ^[3] On December 9, 2009, the Saints announced that they had released Eckel and signed fullback Marcus Mailei.^[4] The Saints re-signed Eckel when Mailei was placed on injured reserve on December 21.

Legal issues

In August 2006 in Anne Arundel County District Court, Eckel was charged with two counts of assault-and-battery and one charge of sexual assault for an incident that occurred at a harborfront bar in Annapolis. The charges were dropped in November 2006. ^[5]

References

External links

• New Orleans Saints bio
• New England Patriots bio
• Philadelphia Eagles bio