Ronald Bartell (born February 22, 1982) 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

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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). 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

Central Michigan Chippewas The Central Michigan Chippewas are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Central Michigan University (CMU), located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The school fields sixteen men's and women's intercollegiate teams that compete at the ...

and Howard Bison. Bartell was selected by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

in the second round of 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 ...

Early life

Bartell played safety and receiver for Renaissance High School in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, from 1996 to 1999. He also ran track and played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He caught 23 passes for 385 yards with four touchdowns on offense and had 45 tackles and four interceptions on defense as a senior when he was named All-City, All-Metro and City Defensive Back of the Year.

College career

Bartell began his college football career at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

but left the school in 2002 "distraught with the direction the program was going" and stated he went through five position coaches in 2½ years at the school and he felt he wasn't getting any better. He transferred to

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

where he started in 38 out of 45 games and was an administration of criminal justice major. Bartell was a Second-team All-

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

as a senior.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

Bartell was selected by the

in the second round (50th overall) in the

. On July 29, 2005, Bartell agreed to a 4-year $3.04 million contract with the Rams. In his rookie season he played in ten games making seven starts (after starting right cornerback Travis Fisher was injured) and recorded 34 tackles. In the 2006 season he made 25 tackles and three interceptions. His first career interception came at the

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 ...

on December 17, 2006. The 2007 season was a career best in terms of tackles made as he ended the campaign with 67, along with one sack and two interceptions. In 2007 Bartell started the first four games in place of right cornerback Fakhir Brown who was on the NFL suspended list. Bartell ended the season starting six games for the injured left cornerback Tye Hill and in between he started two games as the Rams nickelback when the team opened in a five defensive back alignment. In 2008 Bartell again began the season starting at right corner back for Fakhir Brown, who had a broken collar bone and was released and then re-signed. After Brown returned, starting left cornerback Tye Hill was again hurt and placed on injured reserve. Bartell stepped in and started the final 11 games as the left corner. For the season he played in 16 games, starting 14 and made 56 tackles (46 solo), one sack, three interceptions, 20 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovered. Bartell became a

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 ...

following the 2008 season, but was re-signed by the Rams to a four-year, $28 million contract, including $13.6 million in guarantees on March 2, 2009. Bartell fractured his neck during the Rams' 2011 season opener vs the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and missed the rest of the season 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 ...

. He was released by the Rams on March 12, 2012.

Oakland Raiders

Bartell signed with the

on March 16, 2012. He was released on December 10, 2012.

Detroit Lions

Bartell signed with 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 ...

on December 17, 2012. He was released by the Lions on August 31, 2013.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Bartell is now the owner of the restaurant "Kuzzo's Chicken & Waffles," in Detroit. He opened the restaurant in 2013. In 2020 he founded "KAHN Cannabis Co." in Detroit. The dispensary is located in the Russell Industrial Center.

References

External links

Oakland Raiders bioRon Bartell profile on ESPN.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartell, Ron 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Detroit American football cornerbacks Howard Bison football players St. Louis Rams players Oakland Raiders players Detroit Lions players Renaissance High School alumni