Kaden Elliss (born July 10, 1995) is an American 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 ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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). The son of former

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 ...

defensive tackle

Luther Elliss Luther John Elliss (born March 22, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah Utes and was recognized as a co ...

, 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

Idaho Vandals The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Idaho Vandals football, footbal ...

, and has three younger brothers that also play professional football:

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

, and

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

The

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

selected Elliss in the seventh round (244th overall) of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. Elliss was the 30th linebacker drafted in 2019. On May 10, 2019, the New Orleans Saints signed Elliss to a four-year, $2.59 million

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $76,316. During

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, Elliss competed for a roster spot as a backup linebacker against

Vince Biegel Vincent James Biegel ( ; born July 2, 1993) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football at Wisconsin. Early life Biegel's father, Rocky, was a linebacker for BYU from 1988–92 and a second-team All-Western ...

, Porter Gustin,

Josh Martin Josh Martin may refer to: * Josh Martin (American football) (born 1991), American football player * Josh Martin (footballer) (born 2001), English footballer See also * Joshua L. Martin (1799–1856), American politician, Governor of Alabama ...

, Darnell Sankey, and Colton Jumper. Head coach

Sean Payton Patrick Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the Ne ...

named Elliss the primary backup middle linebacker, behind starter

Alex Anzalone Alex Anzalone ( , born September 22, 1994) is an American professional football linebacker for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators. Anzalone was selected in the third round ...

, to begin the regular season. On September 25, 2019, 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 ...

with a knee injury. Elliss was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on August 6, 2020, and was activated the next day.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 13, 2023, the

signed Elliss to a three-year, $21.50 million contract that includes $10.16 million guaranteed upon signing and a

of $5.25 million.

Personal life

Kaden Elliss is one of 12 children of

, a former

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 NFL, and Rebecca Elliss. His brothers,

and

, both played football at Idaho and currently play in the NFL. His younger brother,

, currently plays football 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 ...

after playing at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. He is of Samoan descent. Born and raised in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, Elliss is a

. He has said, "My faith is the most important part of my life. I'm a Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ; that he died and rose from the dead. Honestly, without that, I wouldn't be who I am. That's what makes me tick, honestly."

References

External links

Idaho Vandals bio

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliss, Kaden 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Salt Lake City American football linebackers Idaho Vandals football players New Orleans Saints players Atlanta Falcons players American sportspeople of Samoan descent Pacific Islander American players of American football