Kelly Reardon Blackwell (born February 13, 1969) 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 ...

(NFL) for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He also was a member of the

Fort Worth Cavalry The Fort Worth Cavalry was an Arena Football League team which operated for a single season, 1994, in the National Conference. The league did not want to abandon the idea of having a franchise in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, a major media ma ...

in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL). 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 ...

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

Early life

Blackwell attended Richland High School. He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a freshman, he was named the starter at

and appeared in 11 games. He collected 20 receptions (second on the team), 172 receiving yards (third on the team) and no touchdowns. As a sophomore, he appeared in 8 games, tallying 33 receptions (second on the team), 389 receiving yards (third on the team) and 2 receiving touchdowns (second on the team). As a junior, he appeared in 11 games, registering 64 receptions (school record), 832 receiving yards (third in school history) and 5 receiving touchdowns (tied for second on the team). He tied for third all-time in receptions in a single-game with 12 catches against the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

. As a senior, he appeared in 9 games, leading the team with 64 receptions (tied his school record) for 762 yards (eighth in school history) and 6 touchdowns. He had 11 receptions against the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

to set an NCAA record for most career receptions by a

. He was named to the

All-America Team The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

. He finished his career with 181 receptions (school record), 2,155 receiving yards (fourth in school history) and 13 receiving touchdowns (third in school history). In 2001, he was inducted into the TCU Lettermen's Association Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Blackwell 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 ...

by the

after the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 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 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

. As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games with 2 starts, making 5 receptions for 54 yards. On August 17, 1993, after Cowboys defensive coordinator

Dave Wannstedt David Wannstedt (born May 21, 1952) is a former American football coach. He has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was also the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh foot ...

became the head coach for the

, he traded Blackwell,

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 ...

John Roper and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

Markus Paul Markus Dwayne Paul (April 1, 1966November 25, 2020) was an American football safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the 1989 NFL Draft. He also was a ...

, in exchange for

Vinson Smith,

Barry Minter Barry Antoine Minter (born January 28, 1970) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He played college football at the University of Tulsa. Early years Minter ...

and a sixth-round draft pick (#198- Carl Reeves). He appeared in 2 games with no stats. On October 5, 1993, he was released to make room for

Jim Price. The team would go on to win Super Bowl XXVIII. On December 30, 1993, he signed as 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 ...

with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. On June 1, 1994, he was released before the start of the season. In June 1994, he signed with the

of the

. He was a two-way player at fullback and

. He registered 2 receptions for 18 yards, 17 carries for 46 yards, 13 tackles, 3 sacks, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick. On December 12, 1994, he was selected by the Connecticut Coyotes in the

expansion draft. He was waived on May 3, 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Kelly 1969 births Living people Players of American football from Tarrant County, Texas American football tight ends TCU Horned Frogs football players Chicago Bears players Dallas Cowboys players Fort Worth Cavalry players All-American college football players People from North Richland Hills, Texas