Aaron T. Shea (born December 5, 1976) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted 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 ( ...

in the fourth round of the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. He played collegiately at

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Shea also played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

College career

Shea attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

where he played

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

and tight end.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

He was drafted by the

in the fourth round (110th overall) of the

and went on to play six seasons for Cleveland. During his time there, he caught 97 passes for 851 yards and seven touchdowns. He fumbled only once in his career - during his rookie season in 2000.

San Diego Chargers

As a free agent in the 2006 offseason a handful of teams were reportedly interested in Shea, including the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. On March 17, Shea signed a three-year contract with San Diego. A back injury bothered him throughout the preseason and forced him to miss the team's first three regular season contests. On September 26, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve. Shea was released after just one season in San Diego on March 2, 2007.

Retirement

In June 2007, ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' reported Shea was receiving interest from his former team, the Cleveland Browns. However, Shea remained unsigned as the 2007 season began. In May 2008, Shea officially retired from the NFL. He worked for the Browns from 2011 to 2014, and later became an insurance agent.

Personal

Shea married the former Caitlin Gibbons in Cleveland on June 21, 2003. They have two daughters, Cadence and Ireland and one son Kinzy. Shea and his family were involved in a minor car accident on Route 430 in the town of Ellery, New York, near

Chautauqua Lake Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The lake is approximately long and wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately . The maximum depth is about . The shoreline is about of wh ...

on July 6, 2010. All five members of the Shea family escaped injury.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Aaron 1976 births Living people American football fullbacks American football tight ends Cleveland Browns players Michigan Wolverines football players San Diego Chargers players People from Ottawa, Illinois Sportspeople from LaSalle County, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois