Derek Fine (born August 24, 1983) 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 ...

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 was selected by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

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

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 ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Fine 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 ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

College career

In his junior year at Kansas, Fine received the

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943 – September 23, 2020) was an American professional football halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). Sayers played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though injuries effec ...

Award for the team's most courageous player. He was a team captain in his senior year, in which he caught 46 passes for 394 total receiving yards. He was a part of the Jayhawks team that went 12-1 and won the

2008 Orange Bowl The 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Kansas Jayhawks on January 3, 2008, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Spread bettors favored Virginia Tech by three ...

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

The

selected Fine in the fourth round of the

, with the 132nd overall selection. On November 2, 2008 Fine caught his first pass in the NFL against 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 ...

. The reception was a 9-yard touchdown pass thrown by quarterback

Trent Edwards Trent Addison Edwards (born October 30, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected by the Buffalo ...

. In 2009, during a game against the New York Jets, Fine was battling Jets linebacker

Marques Murrell Marques Allen Murrell (born March 20, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Appalachian State Mountaineers and was signed by the P ...

and eventually started a fight with Murrell and Murrell's teammate James Ihedigbo. This fight led to Ihedigbo being ejected for trying to land a punch on Fine. Fine 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 September 22, 2009 and was replaced by Joe Klopfenstein. He was waived on February 16, 2010.

St. Louis Rams

Fine was claimed off waivers by the

on February 17, 2010. He was waived on March 5, 2010.

Houston Texans

Fine was signed by the

on June 16, 2010. On September 5, 2010, Fine was waived by the Houston Texans.

References

External links

*
Buffalo Bills bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fine, Derek 1983 births Living people People from Sallisaw, Oklahoma Players of American football from Oklahoma American football tight ends Kansas Jayhawks football players Buffalo Bills players St. Louis Rams players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen