Kevin Patrick Walter (born August 4, 1981) 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the seventh round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. 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 ...

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

. Walter was also a member of 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Walter grew up in

Vernon Hills, Illinois Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,850 at the 2020 census. Vernon Hills serves as a retail hub for its surrounding area (Libertyville, Illinois ...

where he attended Hawthorn Middle School South, and played wide receiver for

Libertyville High School Libertyville High School, or LHS, is a public four-year high school located in Libertyville, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is located on Butler Lake, at the intersection of Park Avenue (IL Rte 176) and Dawes Street. ...

in neighboring

Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan, approximately 40 miles north of the Chicago Loop. As such, it is part o ...

, a suburb 30 minutes north of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He lettered three times in

, earning first-team all-state honors as a wide receiver after catching 48 passes for 801 yards and 6 touchdowns. He helped the team to a 10–1 record and a berth in the second round of the state tournament. Walter also was selected first-team all-area, all-conference and All- Lake County. He caught 17 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns as a junior.

College career

Walter attended

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

, where he set school records for receptions (211), receiving yards (2,838), and touchdown catches (20). He also earned first-team All-

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honors as a senior with 93 receptions for 1,368 receiving yards, which were both school single-season records.

Professional career

New York Giants

Walter was a late seventh-round pick (255 overall) in the

by the

out of Eastern Michigan, but was released during training camp.

Cincinnati Bengals

After his release from the Giants, Walter signed with the

. Walter spent three years mainly as a backup and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player, although he did see action in almost every game of his Bengals career and was actually a starter for a couple of games in

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 ...

Houston Texans

The

signed Walter to a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

tender 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 ...

, which the Bengals did not match. In return, the Texans gave up a seventh-round pick to the Bengals. After an injury to Pro-bowler

Andre Johnson Andre Lamont Johnson (born July 11, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Houston Texans. He played college football for the Mi ...

, Walter became the Texans number one receiver and after 8 games in 2007, Walter had 40 catches for 512 yards while also posting a career-high game at Jacksonville in week 6 with 12 catches for 160 yards. Walter's best season came in 2008, he had 60 receptions for 899 yards and 8 touchdowns. He was released by the Texans on March 12, 2013.

Tennessee Titans

On April 1, 2013, Walter signed with the

. On August 27, the Titans placed Walter on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

He is married to college girlfriend Caroline, with whom he has one daughter and two sons.

References

External links

Houston Texans bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Kevin 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Lake Forest, Illinois Players of American football from Lake County, Illinois American football wide receivers Eastern Michigan Eagles football players New York Giants players Cincinnati Bengals players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Tennessee Titans players People from Vernon Hills, Illinois