Daniel Fells (born September 23, 1983) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. 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 ...

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

and was signed by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. Fells was also a member of the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

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 ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

Fells attended Fullerton Union High School. He was an All-Freeway League performer in football, basketball and baseball and was named All-CIF honors in football and was named team's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. Fells was also All-SoCalHoops D-IIA honorable mention as a senior in basketball. His brother is Darren Fells, who most recently played tight end for the

College career

Fells attended

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

and joined the team as a wide receiver. Following a position change orchestrated by the coaching staff, Fells made the transition to play tight end and, as a senior, was a Second-team All- Great West Football Conference (GWFC) selection with 10 receptions for 165 yards and one touchdown. In 2004, as a junior, he was a First-team All-GWFC, with 35 receptions for 520 yards and one touchdown. As a member of the UC Davis Aggies in 2003, he won team's award as outstanding sophomore. In 2002, he was on the roster but did not play, and he redshirted in 2001.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Fells was originally signed by the

as an

in 2006.

Oakland Raiders

On September 4, 2007, the Oakland Raiders assigned Fells to the practice squad.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On January 1, 2008, Fells signed a Reserve/Future contract with the

St. Louis Rams

In October 2008, Fells signed a free agent contract with the

. In 2008, he played 12 games with one start and caught seven passes for 81 yards. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 21, 2008. In 2009, he came back with 21 catches for 273 yards and three touchdowns. He played in 14 games and started four. Then in 2010, he played in every game and started seven. He had career high in catches, and receiving yards with rookie

Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Bradford attended Putnam City North High School, where he starred ...

Denver Broncos

Fells signed a one-year contract with the

on July 31, 2011.

New England Patriots

Fells agreed to sign a three-year deal with the

on March 19, 2012. On August 30, 2013, Fells was released.

New York Giants

On January 7, 2014, Fells was signed by the

. On October 5, 2015, the Giants announced that Fells had been dealing with a chronic ankle condition, which was later discovered to be a

staphylococcal infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasi ...

, a discovery made after he had received a

cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enzyme corticosteroid 11-beta-dehydrogenase ...

injection Injection or injected may refer to: Science and technology * Injective function, a mathematical function mapping distinct arguments to distinct values * Injection (medicine), insertion of liquid into the body with a syringe * Injection, in broadca ...

for his ankle injury. The infection was found to be

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

(MRSA), which is resistant to many antibiotics that are used to treat staph infections. Fells had a high fever upon his arrival on October 2, 2015, at the

emergency room An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

, where he had been taken by his wife. Due to the staph infection found in his ankle, he was placed on injured reserve. On October 9, 2015, he was moved from the

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

(ICU) to a private room. On July 26, 2016, Fells announced his retirement from the NFL.

References

External links

UC Davis Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fells, Daniel 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Anaheim, California American football tight ends American football fullbacks UC Davis Aggies football players Atlanta Falcons players Oakland Raiders players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players St. Louis Rams players Denver Broncos players New England Patriots players New York Giants players Fullerton Union High School alumni