Bryan Kehl (born June 16, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the fourth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. He played

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Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU). He was also a member of the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Early life

Kehl's biological mother, Amy Evans (married name Smith), found out she was pregnant in 1983 while attending Utah State, where she dated Turner. She loved Turner, but marriage was not in their plans. Evans decided to give up Kehl for adoption to experienced foster parents, Gary and Nancy Kehl. Kehl's biological father, Maurice Turner, is a former NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. Kehl's half-brother, Billy Turner, plays

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for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

College career

As a freshman Bryan was recruited by Utah, Oregon, Utah State,

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, Penn, BYU, and Idaho State. He eventually decided to play his college ball at

in 2002 while majoring in mechanical engineering and business. He played his freshman year as a reserve right outside linebacker before taking time off from school and football to participate in an LDS Church mission to

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for two years. His freshman year, he recorded 14 tackles, 6 of which were solo tackles in 11 games. He also earned the "prep team defensive player of the week award" versus Utah State along with letterman honors. In 2005 when he returned for his second year of college, Bryan played in 11 games as a backup right outside linebacker. He recorded 30 tackles, 15 of which were solo and received letterman honors. Some of these tackles included 4 which were in the

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against California. He also blocked a punt that propelled BYU to its only score against Boston College. In 2006 when Bryan was a junior, he started as BYU's weakside

. This season he was ranked third on the team with 70 total tackles, 30 of which were solo and 8 tackles for a total loss. He also had three sacks, a recovered fumble, and led BYU linebackers during the season with 6 pass break-ups. He was an honorable mention All-Mountain West and Academic All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

honors recipient. In 2007 as a senior, Kehl received First-team All-Mountain West Conference honors. He was named the team's defensive MVP, one of the captains, and earned the Strength and Conditioning Award. He ended his senior year with a career-high 91 tackles, 52 of which were solo. He put up 11.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and caused and recovered a fumble during his senior year. He deflected four passes and had an interception in three consecutive games, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Professional career

New York Giants

Kehl was selected in the fourth round of the

by the

. The Giants traded up (from 130 to 123 overall) by swapping picks with 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and giving up one of their sixth round picks (194 overall). He was placed second on the depth chart as weak side linebacker behind Gerris Wilkinson. Kehl made his first NFL start on October 26 for the injured Gerris Wilkinson when the Giants beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Bryan got his first interception of his NFL career in this game. He picked off Steelers quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

and ran it back for 17 yards. Kehl was waived by the Giants on September 14, 2010.

St. Louis Rams

Kehl was claimed off waivers by the

on September 15, 2010.

Washington Redskins (first stint)

On April 23, 2012, Kehl signed with the

. For the team's 3-4 defensive scheme, he switched from an

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

to an

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

to play a backup role to

London Fletcher London Levi Fletcher-Baker (born May 19, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the John Carroll Blue Streaks and sign ...

and Perry Riley. Kehl was cut on August 31, 2012, for final cuts before the start of the 2012 season.

Kansas City Chiefs

On October 2, 2012, Kehl was signed by the Chiefs. On November 27, 2012, Kehl was waived by the Chiefs after playing only 3 games for the team.

Washington Redskins (second stint)

On November 28, 2012, Kehl was claimed off waivers by the Redskins. Set to be a free agent again for the 2013 season, the Redskins re-signed him to another one-year contract on March 14, 2013. In the Week 6 game against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, he tore the ACL in his left knee and was placed on injured reserve the next day.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

BYU Cougars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kehl, Bryan 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Salt Lake City American football linebackers BYU Cougars football players New York Giants players St. Louis Rams players Kansas City Chiefs players Washington Redskins players Latter Day Saints from Utah African-American Latter Day Saints African-American missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Canada American Mormon missionaries