Christopher Joseph Gedney (August 9, 1970 – March 9, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Syracuse Orange, earning unanimous All-American honors in 1992. He played professionally for the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals of the NFL. After his football career ended, he served as assistant athletics director at Syracuse University.
 Gedney in 2009 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | August 9, 1970 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died: | March 9, 2018 (aged 47) Syracuse, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 258 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Liverpool (Liverpool, New York) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Syracuse | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1993 / round: 3 / pick: 61 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Early life
editGedney was born in Wilmington, Delaware.[1][2] He graduated from Liverpool High School,[3] where he played high school football for the Liverpool Warriors.[citation needed]
College career
editWhile attending Syracuse University, he played for the Syracuse Orange football team from 1989 to 1992. As a senior in 1992, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.[4]
Professional career
editThe Chicago Bears selected Gedney in the third round (61st overall pick) in the 1993 NFL draft.[5] He played for the Bears from 1993 to 1995.[6]
He later played for the Arizona Cardinals from 1997 to 2000.[6] His most productive season came in 1997, where he caught 23 passes for 261 yards and 4 touchdowns.[7]
Life after football
editGedney lived in Syracuse, New York. He previously worked as the Development Liaison for the Syracuse Football Lettermen's Club and was an analyst for the Syracuse Sports Network.
On April 29, 2010, Gedney was promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Director for Major Gifts at Syracuse University.[8]
Death
editGedney died by suicide on March 9, 2018, by gunshot to the neck aged 47.[9] A brain autopsy performed by the Boston University CTE Center and Brain Bank determined that Gedney had had stage II chronic traumatic encephalopathy.[10]
References
edit- ^ Christopher J. Gedney
- ^ National Football League, Historical Players, Chris Gedney profile; retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ databaseFootball.com, Players, Chris Gedney Archived March 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine; retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ Mayer, Larry. "Ex-Bears tight end Gedney passes away". Chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ a b Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Chris Gedney profile; retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ "Chris Gedney, Syracuse star and NFL tight end, dies at 47". citizentribune.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Finley, Patrick (March 10, 2018). "Chris Gedney, former Bears third-round pick, dies at 47". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ Stephen Bailey, Former Syracuse football star Chris Gedney dies at age 47, Syracuse.com, March 9, 2018, accessed March 9, 2018.
- ^ Mink, Nate (July 10, 2019). "Chris Gedney's struggle: The pain he carried, and the pain he left behind". syracuse.com. Retrieved January 1, 2022.