Kevin Darnell Vickerson (born January 8, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

. He was drafted by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

in the seventh round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also hel ...

. He played college football at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

. Vickerson has also been a member of 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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

Early years

Vickerson attended Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Michigan. As a senior, he earned Prep All-America honors playing both offensive and defensive line while helping his team to a 10-1 record and a Public School League title.

College career

A four-year letterman at Michigan State, played in 44 games while starting 19 for the Spartans. He started two games as a freshman and started six the following year. As a senior, Vickerson started 11 contests and amassed 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks. In his career, Vickerson totaled 113 tackles including 24.5 for a loss, 8.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and a pair of blocked kicks. He majored in criminal justice.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Vickerson was drafted by former Miami Dolphins head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

with a seventh-round pick (216th overall) in the

. After being late for numerous team meetings the Dolphins considered pulling their contract offer from the table, however he was signed on July 24. After spending two days on the Active/Non-Football Injury list, Vickerson was cleared to practice. After compiling five tackles and a sack in preseason, Vickerson appeared likely to make the team. However, he was placed on Injured Reserve after suffering an ACL injury in a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on September 1. Vickerson was on the bubble to make the team in 2006 and was rumored to be a candidate for the trading block, but in the end did make the final roster. He was inactive for all 16 contests in 2006, and after two seasons had never appeared in a regular season game for the Dolphins. Vickerson became an unrestricted free agent on March 2, 2007 after the Dolphins declined to offer him a contract as an exclusive rights free agent. He was re-signed by the team and allocated to

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

on March 9. In 10 starts for the Cologne Centurions, Vickerson recorded 31 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two passes defensed. He was named to the 2007 All-NFL Europa team. Despite Vickerson's strong performance in NFL Europa, he was released by the Dolphins on August 27.

Tennessee Titans

Vickerson had a workout with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

on September 6, 2007 but was not signed. On November 1, he was signed to the practice squad of the

- the team with which his brother Quartez attended training camp. On November 28, Vickerson was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster after defensive tackle

Demetrin Veal Demetrin Leandro Veal (born August 11, 1981) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee. Veal was also a member of ...

was released. He made his NFL debut on December 2, recording two assisted tackles in the team's 28-20 win over the Houston Texans.

Seattle Seahawks

Vickerson was traded to the

with

LenDale White LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and Den ...

a fourth (111) and fifth (185) round pick in 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 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the fir ...

for a fourth (104) and fifth (176) round pick in the

. Vickerson was released before the start of the regular season on September 5, 2010.

Denver Broncos

Vickerson was signed by the

on September 7, 2010. On November 16, 2012, Vickerson was fined $15,000 for horse-collar tackling

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

quarterback

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the ...

in Week 10. Vickerson came under scrutiny in a highly anticipated Sunday Night Football game against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

with his three personal fouls and hit on

Samson Satele Samson H. Satele (born November 29, 1984) is a former American football center. He played college football at Hawaii and was drafted in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. Satele also played for the Oakland Raiders an ...

, knocking Satele out of the game with a knee injury. The Broncos would go on to lose 39-33. Vickerson was released by the Broncos on August 30, 2014. He signed with the

on September 9.

Kansas City Chiefs

On September 9, 2014, Vickerson was signed by the

New York Jets

Vickerson was signed by the New York Jets on March 24, 2015.

Personal life

Kevin's brother, Quartez Vickerson, played football at

Grand Valley State Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...

and helped his team to a Division II national championship in 2005. He played with the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

in the spring of 2007, and attended 2007 training camp with the

References

External links

Michigan State Spartans bioDenver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickerson, Kevin 1983 births Living people Martin Luther King High School (Detroit) alumni Players of American football from Detroit American football defensive tackles Michigan State Spartans football players Miami Dolphins players Cologne Centurions (NFL Europe) players Tennessee Titans players Seattle Seahawks players Denver Broncos players Kansas City Chiefs players New York Jets players