Andre Frazier (born June 29, 1982) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played five seasons in 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 signed by the Steelers as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2005. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Frazier earned two

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

s with the Steelers in

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

over the

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 ...

and

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

over 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) West division, and play t ...

. He has also played for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He is the son of former NFL linebacker

Guy Frazier Guy Shelton Frazier (born July 20, 1959) is a former American football linebacker who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) played for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1981 to 1984 and the Buffalo Bills from 1985 to 1986. He play ...

Early years

Frazier attended

Hughes Center High School Hughes STEM High School is a public high school located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is part of the Cincinnati Public Schools. History The first Hughes High School was established in 1853 on property on Fifth and Mound streets. The school owes its na ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and was a letterman in football. He was a two-time first-team All-City honoree, and helped lead his team to two League Titles. Andre Frazier graduated from Hughes High School in 2000.

College career

Frazier played his

College Football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

from 2000 to 2004. He earned University of Cincinnati 2004 Strothman Award for academic and athletic excellence.

Professional career

First stint with Steelers

Frazier signed with the

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 ...

as an undrafted free agent. He was activated from the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

to the regular 53-man roster prior to the first game. He played in 11 of the team's games, primarily on special teams. Frazier suffered a debilitating fibula fracture in the 2006 AFC Championship game VS the Denver Broncos, however he celebrated on the sideline as his team defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL and he received a

Championship ring. Prior to the start of the 2006 season, Frazier was cut by the

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 ...

Cincinnati Bengals

On September 28, 2006, Frazier was signed by his hometown team, the

. During the 2007 NFL season, Frazier was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals for the first two games of the season. However, after a devastating loss to the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati released Frazier.

Second stint with Steelers

After being let go by Cincinnati, Frazier was re-signed by the Steelers. An

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the 2009 offseason, Frazier was re-signed to a two-year, $1.375 million contract with a $125,000 signing bonus on March 12. On August 12, 2010, Frazier was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Personal

Andre Frazier's father,

was a linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills. Both father and son were rookies when their respective teams made it to the Super Bowl, though only Andre's team was victorious. When Guy was asked how he felt about his son winning a Super Bowl Championship, he replied, "A father always wants to see his son do better than himself. Andre's victory is nothing less than a great accomplishment for him and an even greater source of pride for myself."

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frazier, Andre 1982 births Living people American football linebackers Cincinnati Bearcats football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Cincinnati Bengals players Players of American football from Cincinnati 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportspeople