Christopher William Gray (born June 19, 1970) is a former

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

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the

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

in the fifth round of the

1993 NFL draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot M ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Auburn. Gray played four seasons with the Dolphins until 1996, one season for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in 1997 and finally over a decade with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. He retired from the Seahawks prior to the 2008 season because he was "at risk for paralysis because of a lower back and spine injury...." Chris Gray holds the Seahawks franchise record for consecutive starts with 121 and is 9th for total games with 145. Although he never made it into the Pro Bowl, he was an integral part of the offensive line that blocked for Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander during their five consecutive playoff appearances (2003–2007), including Alexander's MVP year in 2005. He was also on the 1999

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...

Champion Seahawks. During his career with the Seahawks, he played every position on their offensive line. In 2008, Gray was a recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award, and in 2015, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks nio

Seattle Seahawks career profile
1970 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Auburn Tigers football players Chicago Bears players Miami Dolphins players Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama 20th-century American sportsmen {{offensive-lineman-1970s-stub