Gabriel "Gabe" Reid (born May 28, 1977) 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 wi ...

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. Lik ...

for the Chicago Bears 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 signed 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 ...

out of

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

Football career

Reid played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for

Leone High School Leone High School is a senior high school in Vailoatai and Leone, in the Western District, American Samoa. It is operated by the American Samoa Department of Education. It is the second-largest high school on Tutuila Island. It was opened in ...

Leone, American Samoa Leone is the second-largest city on Tutuila Island's west coast.Clayville, Melinda (2021). ''Explore American Samoa: The Complete Guide to Tutuila, Aunu'u, and Manu'a Islands''. Page 70. ISBN 9798556052970. The village is on the south-west coast o ...

and followed older brother Spencer Reid to

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. Spencer was the first graduate from an American Samoan high school to play in the NFL, playing for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

(1998) and Indianapolis Colts (1999). After not being selected in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. T ...

, Reid signed with the Chicago Bears. Late in the 2006 season, Bears head coach

Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a ...

converted Reid into a fullback after starter Jason McKie injured his ankle. He fumbled a kickoff return in Super Bowl XLI at his 35-yard line with Colts player Tyjuan Hagler recovering and the Colts, after a fumble of their own, subsequently scored. Reid became a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

after the season, but was not offered an extension and did not return to the Bears. He ended his four-year NFL career with seven receptions for 57 yards and no touchdowns.

Personal

Reid is a husband and a father of four children, three girls and one boy. He is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church).

References

1977 births Living people American football tight ends BYU Cougars football players Chicago Bears players Players of American football from American Samoa American Samoan Latter Day Saints People from Pago Pago American sportspeople of Samoan descent {{tightend-1970s-stub