Scott Darwin Player (born December 17, 1969) is a former NFL, CFL, and UFL punter. He was signed by the
Birmingham Barracudas as a
street free agent in 1995. He also played
college football at
Florida State.
Player was also a member of 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
,
New York Jets,
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
,
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
,
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
and
New York Sentinels
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
. He was a
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
alternate with the Cardinals in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
and a Pro Bowl selection in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
.
Early years
After playing college football at Florida State he became a physical education teacher at Price Middle School until 1994. Afterwards he became a teacher at Family Worship Center Academy through 1995, during which he became the punter for the Barracudas. After his brief stint with the now defunct Barracudas he became the assistant head of fitness for the City of Birmingham, Alabama from March 1996 until October 1997. During his employment in Alabama he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and New York Giants but did not make the final roster on any of these teams. After his tenure with the City of Birmingham, he became a dispatcher at
Roadway Express from January 1997 through January 1998, after which he was signed back by the Arizona Cardinals, finally making a roster and remaining with the team until the 2007 preseason.
Professional career
He played ten years in the NFL, nine of which were with the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
and a portion of a season with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
. He also played in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...
and in
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 ...
with the
Frankfurt Galaxy. Player was the last NFL player to wear a
one-bar face mask, which was banned by the league in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. His face mask was covered under a
grandfather clause
A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...
.
Arizona Cardinals
Player played for the Cardinals between 1998 and 2006, earning a
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
selection in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. The Cardinals released him on August 29, 2007.
Cleveland Browns
On September 18, 2007 Player was signed by the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
after
Dave Zastudil was injured. On October 8, 2007 the Browns released him.
Cleveland Browns Release Scott Player
New England Patriots
On April 18, 2008 Player was signed by the New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
to compete with incumbent Chris Hanson. He was released on June 12, 2008.
New York Sentinels
Player was signed by the New York Sentinels
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
in 2009. UFL rules allowed Player to keep his one-bar face mask during his time with the Sentinels.
References
External links
Just Sports Stats
New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Player, Scott
1969 births
Living people
People from St. Augustine, Florida
Players of American football from Florida
American football punters
Florida State Seminoles football players
Birmingham Barracudas players
Arizona Cardinals players
New York Giants players
Frankfurt Galaxy players
New York Jets players
Cleveland Browns players
New England Patriots players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
New York Sentinels players