Tony Bryant (born September 3, 1976) 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

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 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) for 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 ...

from 1999 to 2002 and the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

from 2003 to 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 ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

High school

Bryant was born and raised in

Marathon, Florida Marathon is a city in the middle of the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, Monroe County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,689, up from 8,297 in 2010 United States ce ...

. He attended Marathon High School and played for the Marathon Dolphin football team where he received many of awards including Best All-Around Athlete, All American Defensive End, First-team All State, Monroe County Player of the Year, and All County Team. Tony was honored at Marathon High School on October 31, 2008, when his jersey number 45 was retired.

College

Bryant attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College for two years. While there he earned his Associate of Arts degree in

Child Development Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. It is—particularly from birth to five years— a foundation ...

. He also played football and earned honors including being named an All-American Defensive End and NJCAA Most Valuable Player. He was also the No.6 Junior College Prospect, and Top Junior College Player. After attending Copian Lincoln Junior College he went on to attend

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. There he recorded 14 career sacks and 87 tackles. He was also named to the All-ACC 2nd team.

Professional career

He was picked with the ninth pick in the second round of the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 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 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

by the

. He played for the Raiders from 1999 to 2002. There he recorded 92 solo tackles, 35 assists, 17 sacks, and 1 safety. He was also part of the Raiders

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

season in 2002. In 2003, he signed with the

, and played there until 2005. After the Saints he went to 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 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Tony 1976 births Living people People from Marathon, Florida American football defensive ends Copiah–Lincoln Wolves football players Florida State Seminoles football players Oakland Raiders players New Orleans Saints players 20th-century American sportsmen