Gilbert Ravelle Gardner, II (born May 9, 1982 in

Angleton, Texas Angleton is a city in and the county seat of Brazoria County, Texas, United States, within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. Angleton lies at the intersection of State Highway 288, State Highway 35, and the Union Pac ...

) 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 ...

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, ...

. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. He played college football at Purdue. Gardner earned a

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 ...

with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears. He also played for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, the Detroit Lions and the Bears.

Early years

Gardner attended Angleton High School in Angleton, Texas and was a letterman in football, baseball, and track. In football, he was a three-time All-District selection and a three-time All-County selection. Gilbert Gardner graduated from Angleton High School in 2000. He and his wife, Emily, have a son named Gilbert Ravelle Gardner III. Gilbert has returned to his roots and is a coach at his hometown Angleton High School.

College career

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

, he started 31 of 46 games, recording 215 tackles with 3.5 sacks, 23 stops for losses, seven fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, 11 pass deflections and three interceptions.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

He was drafted by the Colts in the 3rd round (69th overall) of the

. He played for the Indianapolis Colts as a backup during the 2004 and 2005 seasons, eventually rising to starting LB by 2006. His 2006 season is remembered negatively by fans, as he was a key cog of the worst run defense in the league, until he was benched late in the season in favor of veteran LB Rob Morris. Gardner was released from the Indianapolis Colts on May 8, 2007.

Tennessee Titans

He was claimed off waivers by the Titans on May 9, 2007 and played one season with the team before becoming a

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 2008.

Detroit Lions

Gardner was signed by the Detroit Lions on March 25, 2008. During the first seven weeks of the season, Gardner appeared in two games for the Lions in a reserve role and recorded no tackles. He was placed on injured reserve on October 25 after the team signed

Anthony Cannon. Gardner was released on November 5.

Chicago Bears

Gardner was signed by the Chicago Bears on December 12, 2008 after

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Garrett Wolfe Garrett Wolfe (born August 17, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played his college football at Northern Illinois. Early years A Chicago native, Wolfe atte ...

was placed on injured reserve. He was released the following offseason on February 13, 2009.

External links

Chicago Bears bioDetroit Lions bioIndianapolis Colts bioTennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Gilbert 1982 births Living people People from Angleton, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football linebackers Angleton High School alumni Purdue Boilermakers football players Indianapolis Colts players Tennessee Titans players Detroit Lions players Chicago Bears players