Gerard Thurston Warren (born July 25, 1978) 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 ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in 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) for eleven seasons. 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 ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

third overall in the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

, and also played professionally for the

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

of the NFL.

Early life

Warren was born in

Lake City, Florida Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistica ...

. He attended Union County High School in Lake Butler, Florida, where he played for the Union County Tigers high school football team. FHSAA unveils '100 Greatest Players of First 100 Years' as part of centennial football celebration
," Florida High School Athletic Association (December 4, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2011. He finished his high school career with 36 sacks, and was ranked among the top ten defensive linemen nationally. During his four years in high school, the Union County High School Tigers had an overall win–loss record of 49–4 and won three consecutive Florida Class 3A state championships in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Warren was named to the Prep Stars and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' high school

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

teams. In 2007, ten years after he graduated from high school, the

Florida High School Athletic Association The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is a not-for-profit organization designated by the Florida Legislature as the governing organization to regulate all interscholastic activities of high schools in Florida. It is a member of ...

(FHSAA) recognized Warren as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football.

College career

Warren attended the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 97, 125, 186 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. As a junior team captain in 2000, Warren posted 76 tackles and 4.5 quarterback sacks at defensive tackle and was a second-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

(SEC) selection and a second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

.GatorZone.com, Football History, 2000 Roster
Gerard Warren
. Retrieved April 11, 2011. He finished his three-season career as a Gator with 159 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and 30 tackles for a loss in 35 games and 22 starts.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Warren was drafted by the

with the third overall selection in the

. He played in 15 games as a rookie in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, all starts, and finished with 61 tackles and five sacks. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, Warren started all 16 games, recording 40 tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles. He started 15 games for the Browns in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, picking up 32 tackles and a career-high 5.5 sacks. In his final season in Cleveland,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Warren played in and started 13 games, missing three to injury, and finished with 19 tackles and four sacks.

Denver Broncos

In March 2005, Warren was traded to the

for a fourth-round pick in the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. In addition to Warren, the Broncos also acquired defensive linemen Michael Myers,

Ebenezer Ekuban Ebenezer Ekuban Jr. (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and Denver Broncos. He played college football fo ...

, and Courtney Brown from the Browns, leading some to dub the new Broncos defensive line the "Browncos." Warren finished the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

season with 42 tackles and three sacks in 16 starts. In

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 ...

, Warren started 15 games and recorded 30 tackles and 2.5 sacks on the season.

Oakland Raiders

In August 2007, during the preseason, Warren was traded by the Broncos to the

in exchange for a conditional fifth-round draft pick in 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 ...

. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, Warren played in 12 games (five starts) for the Raiders, posting 22 tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble. Warren started all 16 games in the

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 ...

season, finishing with 39 tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble. In his final season with the Raiders,

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 ...

, Warren again started all 16 games and finished the year with 35 tackles and two sacks. He was released by the Raiders on March 11, 2010.

New England Patriots

On April 24, 2010, during the final day of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

, Warren signed with the

. Despite being a late free agent signing, Warren made the Patriots' roster and began the season as a starter at defensive end before moving to

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in Week 6. After two games at nose tackle, Warren moved back to defensive end but did not start the team's Week 8 game against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He returned to the starting lineup in Week 12 against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, and went on to start four of the team's final five games after Thanksgiving. Warren finished the regular season with 28 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 16 games (10 starts). The Patriots re-signed him on August 8, 2011, after he had been a free agent for most of the offseason. During the 2011 season, he played in eleven games, all off the bench, and compiled a sack and 15 tackles. Afterward, he again became a free agent, but he re-signed with the Patriots on April 30, 2012.Mary Paoletti,
Paoletti: Warren to re-sign with Patriots
" Comcast SportsNet New England (April 30, 2012). Retrieved April 30, 2012. He was again released on August 26, 2012.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Gerard Warren is the second-cousin of Mahailya Reeves, the weightlifting sensation from Lake Butler, who, at only 15 years of age, recently set a Florida women's bench press record of 355 pounds.

References

External links

Gerard Warren
– Florida Gators player profile
Gerard Warren
– New England Patriots player profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Gerard 1978 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Florida Gators football players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Oakland Raiders players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Lake City, Florida