Ernest Harold Conwell (born August 17, 1972) 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 ...

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 ...

. He was drafted by 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 from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

in the second round of the

1996 NFL Draft The 1996 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 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...

. 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 ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Conwell also played for 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He currently works for the

NFL Players Association The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...

Early years

Conwell graduated from Kentwood High School in

Covington, Washington Covington is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 20,777 at the time of the 2020 census. Prior to the 2010 census, Covington was counted as part of Covington-Sawyer-Wilderness CDP. History The area presently kn ...

in 1991 right after setting the school record for 800g javelin at 195'1". While there he won the 1990 Washington State 4A Championship in shot put and

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

for javelin and shot. His nephew, Will Conwell, was also a track and field thrower at Kentwood who set two school records in 2000, 59'4.5" for shot put and 177'9" for discus. During Conwell's senior year at

, he finished with 24 catches for 343 yards and 2 TDs. Until that year, he played behind fellow tight end

Mark Bruener Mark Frederick Bruener (born September 16, 1972) is a former American football tight end of the National Football League (NFL), and a current college scout for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 27th overall in th ...

Professional career

Conwell was drafted by the

in the second round of the

. Conwell missed the end of the 1998 season and most of the 1999 season following November 1998 knee surgery, but did play in the Super Bowl. Despite the injuries, Conwell was re-signed by the Rams in early 2000 to a three-year contract for the 2000–2002 seasons. The 2001 season was Conwell’s best, as he notched 38 receptions for 431 yards and was named second-team All-Pro. In 2002, his last season with the Rams, he played in all 16 games and started 11, and finished the season with 34 receptions for 429 yards. He played for the

from 2003 until he was released on February 28, 2007.Saints release tight end Conwell
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References

1972 births Living people Sportspeople from Renton, Washington American football tight ends Players of American football from Washington (state) Washington Huskies football players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Rams players Sportspeople from Kent, Washington Kentwood High School (Washington) alumni Ed Block Courage Award recipients {{tightend-1970s-stub