Bryan Kehl (born June 16, 1984) is a former American football linebacker. He was selected by the New York Giants in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He played college football at Brigham Young University (BYU).

Bryan Kehl
refer to caption
Kehl during his tenure with the Rams in the 2010 NFL season
No. 50, 53, 55
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1984-06-16) June 16, 1984 (age 40)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:243 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:Salt Lake City (UT) Brighton
College:Brigham Young
NFL draft:2008 / round: 4 / pick: 123
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:122
Sacks:1.0
Pass deflections:1
Interceptions:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

He was also a member of the St. Louis Rams, Washington Redskins, and Kansas City Chiefs.

Early life

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Kehl's biological mother, Amy Evans (married name Smith), found out she was pregnant in 1983 while attending Utah State, where she dated Turner. She loved Turner, but marriage was not in their plans. Evans decided to give up Kehl for adoption to experienced foster parents, Gary and Nancy Kehl.[1]

Kehl's biological father, Maurice Turner, is a former NFL running back.[2] Kehl's half-brother, Billy Turner, plays Offensive Tackle for the New York Jets.

College career

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As a freshman Bryan was recruited by Utah, Oregon, Utah State, Harvard, Yale, Penn, BYU, and Idaho State. He eventually decided to play his college ball at Brigham Young University in 2002 while majoring in mechanical engineering and business. He played his freshman year as a reserve right outside linebacker before taking time off from school and football to participate in an LDS Church mission to Toronto for two years. His freshman year, he recorded 14 tackles, 6 of which were solo tackles in 11 games. He also earned the "prep team defensive player of the week award" versus Utah State along with letterman honors. In 2005 when he returned for his second year of college, Bryan played in 11 games as a backup right outside linebacker. He recorded 30 tackles, 15 of which were solo and received letterman honors. Some of these tackles included 4 which were in the Las Vegas Bowl against California. He also blocked a punt that propelled BYU to its only score against Boston College.

In 2006 when Bryan was a junior, he started as BYU's weakside linebacker. This season he was ranked third on the team with 70 total tackles, 30 of which were solo and 8 tackles for a total loss. He also had three sacks, a recovered fumble, and led BYU linebackers during the season with 6 pass break-ups. He was an honorable mention All-Mountain West and Academic All-Mountain West Conference honors recipient. In 2007 as a senior, Kehl received First-team All-Mountain West Conference honors. He was named the team's defensive MVP, one of the captains, and earned the Strength and Conditioning Award. He ended his senior year with a career-high 91 tackles, 52 of which were solo. He put up 11.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and caused and recovered a fumble during his senior year. He deflected four passes and had an interception in three consecutive games, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2 14 in
(1.89 m)
242 lb
(110 kg)
32 34 in
(0.83 m)
9 12 in
(0.24 m)
4.56 s 1.54 s 2.62 s 4.18 s 6.54 s 35 in
(0.89 m)
10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)
26 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day.[3]

New York Giants

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Kehl was selected in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL draft by the New York Giants.[4] The Giants traded up (from 130 to 123 overall) by swapping picks with the Pittsburgh Steelers and giving up one of their sixth round picks (194 overall). He was placed second on the depth chart as weak side linebacker behind Gerris Wilkinson. Kehl made his first NFL start on October 26 for the injured Gerris Wilkinson when the Giants beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Bryan got his first interception of his NFL career in this game. He picked off Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and ran it back for 17 yards.

Kehl was waived by the Giants on September 14, 2010.

St. Louis Rams

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Kehl was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Rams on September 15, 2010.

Washington Redskins (first stint)

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On April 23, 2012, Kehl signed with the Washington Redskins.[5] For the team's 3-4 defensive scheme, he switched from an outside linebacker to an inside linebacker to play a backup role to London Fletcher and Perry Riley.[6] Kehl was cut on August 31, 2012, for final cuts before the start of the 2012 season.[7]

Kansas City Chiefs

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On October 2, 2012, Kehl was signed by the Chiefs. On November 27, 2012, Kehl was waived by the Chiefs after playing only 3 games for the team.

Washington Redskins (second stint)

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On November 28, 2012, Kehl was claimed off waivers by the Redskins.[8] Set to be a free agent again for the 2013 season, the Redskins re-signed him to another one-year contract on March 14, 2013.[9] In the Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys, he tore the ACL in his left knee and was placed on injured reserve the next day.[10]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2008 NYG 16 2 35 25 10 1.0 2 1 17 0 17 1 0 0 0 0
2009 NYG 14 1 22 16 6 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2010 NYG 1 0 3 2 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
STL 14 1 35 28 7 0.0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011 STL 14 1 15 14 1 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012 KAN 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WAS 5 0 6 5 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013 WAS 5 0 6 5 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
72 5 122 95 27 1.0 8 1 17 0 17 1 0 2 0 0

Playoffs

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2008 NYG 1 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012 WAS 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

References

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  1. ^ "Bryan Kehl's big Mormon family and the blessings of adoption". Deseret News. June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  2. ^ Kinkhabwala, Aditi (September 10, 2010). "An Adopted Linebacker With an Unlikely Story". Wall Street Journal.
  3. ^ "Bryan Kehl, DS #7 OLB, Brigham Young". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  4. ^ "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  5. ^ Jones, Mike (April 23, 2012). "Bryan Kehl to join Redskins at ILB". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  6. ^ King, Derrick (August 14, 2012). "Kehl Finding Success In Opportunity". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  7. ^ Jones, Mike (August 31, 2012). "Redskins' cutdown day begins". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  8. ^ Tinsman, Brian (November 29, 2012). "Redskins Claim Kehl, Waive Addison". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  9. ^ Jones, Mike (March 14, 2013). "Redskins re-sign backup linebacker Bryan Kehl". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  10. ^ Jones, Mike (October 14, 2013). "Redskins lose Kehl, Sundberg for the year with knee injuries". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
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