Gary Guyton (born November 14, 1985) 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 ...

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 signed by the

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 ...

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 ...

in 2008. 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 ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

Early life

Guyton was born in

Hinesville, Georgia Hinesville is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is located on the Atlantic coastal plain. The county seat of Liberty County, Georgia, Liberty County, it had a population of 34,891 at the 2020 United States census, 202 ...

. He had 56 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks, three fumble recoveries, five pass breakups and a blocked kick and returned two fumbles and an interception for touchdowns as a senior at

Bradwell Institute Bradwell Institute is a public high school located in Hinesville, Georgia, Hinesville, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It serves the western half of Hinesville, western Fort Stewart, Walthourville, Georgia, Walthourville, Allenhur ...

in Hinesville. As a junior, he had 59 tackles with nine sacks, 10 tackles for loss, one interception and a fumble recovery.

College career

Guyton was a two-year starter for the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

. As a freshman in 2004, he saw action in 12 games on special teams. As a sophomore in 2005, he made 19 tackles, one sack and one pass defended. In 2006, he had 29 tackles while making 12 starts at outside linebacker. As a senior in 2007, Guyton finished second on the team in total tackles with 78 while starting all 13 games. He also had five sacks and 14 tackles for a loss.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Guyton had the fastest

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

time out of all the linebackers in the 2008 NFL

combine Combine may refer to: Machinery * Combine harvester, or combine, a machine to harvest grain crops * Seed drill, or combine seeder, a machine to plant seeds Company structure * Corporate group, an industrial business group in Western democrac ...

with a 4.47 time.

New England Patriots

2008 season

On April 28, 2008, Guyton signed as an undrafted free agent with the

. The previous day rumors circulated that Guyton had agreed to terms with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, however confusion arose when 49ers

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Scot McCloughan Scot G. McCloughan (born March 1, 1971) is an American professional football executive. He was formerly the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, as well as a senior personnel executive for the Seattle Seahawks. McCl ...

said he would divulge names of undrafted free agents with whom the club had agreed to terms and the following day, Guyton had officially signed with the Patriots. Guyton, an undrafted free agent, made the Patriots' 53-man roster, and was active for all but one game of his rookie season in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, while the Patriots' third-round draft pick

Shawn Crable Shawn Crable (born December 26, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2008 NF ...

, an outside linebacker, was inactive, and another inside linebacker, sixth-round draft pick

Bo Ruud Bo Ruud (born September 2, 1984) is an American former professional football linebacker. He was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He played college football at Nebraska. Ruud was also a member of the ...

, 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 ...

. Guyton also started two games late in the season after an injury to

Tedy Bruschi Tedy Lacap Bruschi (; born June 9, 1973) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats footba ...

. In the Patriots' Week 4 game against the

, the Patriots employed multiple nickel and dime defenses that gave Guyton more defensive snaps than fellow rookie inside linebacker

Jerod Mayo Jerod Andrew Mayo Sr. (born February 23, 1986) is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons with the New England Patriots. He also served as the head coach ...

, the Patriots' 2008 first-round draft pick. In interviews, Patriots head coach

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick ( ; born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, inc ...

noted that they had debated drafting Guyton over Ruud, but ultimately chose Ruud; in retrospect, Belichick admitted that the Patriots should have drafted Guyton and undrafted free agent running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

2009 season

Due to Bruschi's retirement just prior to the start of the season, Guyton would go to start all 16 games for the Patriots in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. He began the season as a 3–4 weakside linebacker before the middle linebacker, Mayo, was injured in Week 1. Guyton started at 4–3 middle linebacker for the Patriots in Weeks 2–5, in place of Mayo. Upon Mayo's return, the two started the rest of the season as 3–4 inside linebackers. Guyton finished the season with 85 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Following the season, the Patriots signed Guyton to a two-year extension worth over $2.1 million, including a $650,000 signing bonus; as Guyton was an exclusive rights free agent, the Patriots were only required to offer him a one-year minimum tender of $470,000.

2010 season

Guyton scored his first career touchdown in the Patriots' Week 1 game against the

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

, on a 59-yard interception return of a

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy as ...

pass. It was the first interception by a Patriots linebacker since the

season. In Week 14 against 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 ...

, Guyton returned a second quarter Bears fumble 35 yards for a touchdown. In 16 games played (eight starts), Guyton recorded 63 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, and one forced fumble.

Miami Dolphins

Guyton signed with 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 ...

on April 13, 2012.

Dallas Cowboys

Guyton signed with 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 ...

on November 6, 2012. He was released three days later without appearing in a game.

San Diego Chargers

On December 12, 2012 Guyton signed with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Tennessee Titans

On August 11, 2013, Guyton was signed by 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. He was released on August 30, 2013.

Montreal Alouettes

On May 16, 2014, Gary Guyton was signed by the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

*
New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guyton, Gary 1985 births Living people People from Hinesville, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football linebackers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players New England Patriots players Miami Dolphins players Dallas Cowboys players San Diego Chargers players Tennessee Titans players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Montreal Alouettes players Canadian football linebackers Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state)