Todd Benjamin Heap (born March 16, 1980) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

who played 12 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). After playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, he was drafted by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

in the first round of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

. Heap played ten years for the Ravens, becoming the franchise's all-time leader in

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

catches and second all-time in receptions and yards. He was released in 2011 and played two years for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

Early years

A 1998 graduate of Mountain View High School in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Communit ...

, Todd lettered three years in football, three years in basketball and two years in baseball. Todd helped Mountain View win back-to-back football state championships in 1996 and 1997, going undefeated both years. He also helped both the basketball and baseball teams win a State Championship his senior year. During his high school years, Todd won many football related awards, including Arizona All-Star honors, All-Arizona, Super All-State, Arizona 5A Player of the Year, Ed Doherty Player of the Year, All-East Valley Two-Way Player of the Year as a senior and a SuperPrep All-American. Todd broke several school records, including most career receiving yards (1,377), most career receptions (87), most career touchdown receptions, and most touchdown catches in one game (3). In the state championship game against Tucson Amphitheater, he caught one touchdown pass, scored a two-point conversion and threw a 26-yard touchdown pass.

College career

Heap played college football at Arizona State University, majoring in pre-business. His 115 receptions broke the school record for tight ends, previously held by Ken Dyer. * 1999: 55 catches for 832 yards with three touchdowns * 2000: 45 catches for 617 yards with three touchdowns

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

The

selected Heap in the first round (31st overall) of the

. Through the end of the

2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season. The preseason started ...

he played 120 total career games, starting 115. Heap recorded 16 receptions for 206 yards and one touchdown in his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season, playing behind eight-time Pro-Bowler

Shannon Sharpe Shannon Sharpe (born June 26, 1968) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he ranks th ...

. He became the starting tight end for the Ravens in 2002 after Sharpe left in free agency. The Ravens were 7-9 in Heap's second season. He caught 68 passes for 836 yards and six

s and was voted to his first Pro Bowl. The following season in 2003, Heap garnered 57 receptions for 693 yards and three touchdowns, despite the Ravens having a run-first offense, behind the record breaking 2,066-yard rushing season of

Jamal Lewis Jamal Lewis (born August 26, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. He played college football at Tennessee and was s ...

. Heap was again voted to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

as the Ravens won the

AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL ...

division for the first time. Heap had six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown in a 20-17 playoff loss to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

Heap was injured in the second week of the 2004 season, in a game against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He returned in Week 13, but missed the final game of the season. He finished the season with 303 yards and three touchdowns in six games. He returned healthy and ready to play in the 2005 season. The Ravens team suffered numerous injuries to their starters, and ended the season 6-10. Heap caught 75 passes for 855 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2006 he would begin catching passes from former rival, former

quarterback

Steve McNair Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009),Steve McNair Found Dead
...

. It would also prove to be the Ravens best regular season, as they won the AFC North for the second time in franchise history with a record of 13-3. Heap caught 73 passes for 765 yards and six touchdowns. Heap missed 10 games in the 2007 season due to injury, and caught only 23 passes, amassing 239 yards and one touchdown. In 2008, he collected 35 receptions for 403 yards and three touchdowns. The Ravens advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2000 season, but would lose to the Steelers. Heap played through numerous injuries in the 2009 season, yet had 53 receptions for 593 yards and six touchdowns, and twice scored two touchdowns in a single game. The Ravens finished 9–7, losing in the second round of the playoffs to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He built on his success from the previous year in 2010, going on to have one of the best seasons of his career. In 12 games, he notched 37 receptions for 546 yards, and five touchdowns, one being a career long 65-yard touchdown. In a Week 13 match-up with the Steelers, he suffered a pulled

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

on the first offensive snap for Baltimore, taking him out of the game. As a precaution, he missed the next three weeks, not wanting to re-aggravate or worsen the injury. On July 25, 2011, the day the NFL announced the

Collective Bargaining Agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

, the Ravens announced they would be releasing him once free agency began. He was officially released on July 28.

Arizona Cardinals

On July 31, 2011, Heap signed a two-year contract with the

. He appeared in 12 games for the Cardinals, totaling 32 receptions for 377 yards and one touchdown. After being injured in a Week 2 game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

on September 16, 2012, late in the third quarter, he did not return for the remaining 11 weeks afterwards and was eventually released by the Cardinals on December 4, 2012.

Retirement

Heap retired from professional football in 2013. On May 13, 2014, the Baltimore Ravens announced Heap would be inducted into the team's

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was s ...

. In 2017, Heap joined the Ravens' radio broadcast crew, to serve as a

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

for four regular-season games.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Heap and his wife Ashley had five children: daughter Brooklyn (born 2002), twin sons Preston and Kyle (born in 2006), and son Cade (born 2011). Their youngest daughter, Holly Alivia, born in 2013, died in April 2017 when Heap accidentally ran her over in his driveway while moving his vehicle. In her honor, the Heap family created Hugs from Holly, a campaign that centers around acts of kindness. Every May 4, which was Holly Heap’s birthday, is “Hugs From Holly Day.” Heap is one of six children. His mother is the cousin of former pro-bowl NFL player

Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks' ...

, while his great-uncle Verl played basketball at Arizona State. Heap is a professed member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heap, Todd 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona Latter Day Saints from Arizona American football tight ends Arizona State Sun Devils football players Baltimore Ravens players Arizona Cardinals players American Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League announcers Baltimore Ravens announcers