Michael Wright (born March 1, 1982) 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 ...

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played for 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 ...

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). He was originally signed by the Patriots 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 2005. 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 ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Early life

Wright was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He attended Springer School and Center for his pre-secondary education. He graduated from

Purcell Marian High School Purcell Marian High School is a Catholic parochial high school in the East Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, based in the Marianist tradition. It is located in the DeSales Corner business district, along Madison R ...

in Cincinnati in 2000. He was a letterman and a starter for two years; as a senior, he won All-City and All-State honors.

College career

After high school, Wright attended

Ashland University Ashland University is a private university in Ashland, Ohio, United States. The university consists of a main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern U ...

, where he played football for a season in 2000. In 2001, he transferred to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, where he walked-on to the football team. He was

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ed his freshman season in 2001, and missed his sophomore season in 2002 with a knee injury. In 2003, he made six starts on the defensive line for Cincinnati and was named the team's defensive newcomer of the year. Wright recorded 42 tackles in his senior season in 2004 in addition to blocking an extra point.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Wright was signed by the

after going undrafted 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 ...

. He made the Patriots' roster out of training camp and played in 13 games in his

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 ...

rookie season. 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 ...

on January 6, 2007, and missed the team's two

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

games. In the second week of the

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 ...

season, Wright made his first career start, and made four overall starts on the year. He led the team once in tackles and twice in special teams tackles in 2006. Wright played in nine games 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 ...

before being placed on injured reserve on December 13. He returned 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 ...

to play in all 16 games, starting two. He finished the season with a career-high 2.5 sacks and 33 tackles. Wright was re-signed by the Patriots to a four-year contract in March 2009 after failing to find a starting job on the

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 ...

market. Wright played in 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 ...

, starting nine. He finished the season with 35 tackles and five sacks. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Wright missed the final six games of the regular season with a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

, but recorded 14 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his 10 games played (five starts). Wright was placed on

on January 7, 2011, during the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, after having not played since November 21, 2010. In 2011 Wright started in the season opener against the Dolphins in Miami. In that game he recorded 1 tackle half a sack while putting consistent pressure on Dolphins quarterback

Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines foo ...

. He suffered from a concussion in this game and another some time soon after. He was cut from the Patriots on February 22, 2012.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Mike 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Cincinnati American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Ashland Eagles football players Cincinnati Bearcats football players New England Patriots players