Kenneth Alfonzo Ladler Jr. (born June 23, 1992) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

at Vanderbilt, and 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

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in 2014. He also played for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of 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 ...

Early years

Ladler attended

Stephenson High School Stephenson High School (SHS) is a public school serving grades 9–12 located in the unincorporated area of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It has a Stone Mountain postal address but it is not in the city limits. It is part of the DeKalb ...

Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 according to the 2020 US Census. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square mil ...

. As a senior, he helped Stephenson to an undefeated regular season and to the second round of the state playoffs. He registered 80 tackles, four interceptions and a forced fumble. He also scored on punt return, INT return and a blocked punt. Considered a three-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', he was rated the 42nd best

prospect in the nation. He committed to Vanderbilt over offers from

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and Toledo.

College career

As a true freshman in 2010, he appeared in every game at

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

, including nine starts for the Commodores. He finished fifth on team in total tackles with 57, while also registering 5.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and one interception, and was a selection on the All- SEC Freshman team. In 2010, he played in all 13 games, earning five starts. He finished the season fourth on the team with 53 tackles, while adding four pass deflections and one interception. In 2012, he started all 13 games, while leading the team with 90 tackles, three pass deflections, two interceptions and a forced fumble. In 2013, he earned second-team All- SEC honors after he recorded a team leading 91 tackles, with nine pass deflections and five interceptions. He also led the SEC and shared the NCAA lead while setting a team record with five forced fumbles.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Ladler was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent. He was among final cuts by the Bills on August 30, 2014, but was signed to the practice squad the next day. On October he was promoted to the active roster and after suffering an arm injury he was placed on season ending injured reserve on October 28, 2014. He was released by the team on September 1, 2015.

Edmonton Eskimos

Ladler was signed by the

prior to 2016 season. In Kenny's first season in 2016, he had 70 tackles and 2 interceptions. The following season saw a major improvement for Ladler where he recorded 86 tackles and 3 interceptions, he was then named the Eskimos defensive player of the year and later named to the CFL all defense team.

Washington Redskins (first stint)

On January 9, 2018, Ladler signed a reserve/future contract with the

. On September 1, 2018, he was waived for final roster cuts before the start of the season, but signed with their

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, ...

the following day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 11, 2018. He was waived on November 6, 2018.

New York Giants

On November 14, 2018, Ladler was signed to the

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 6, 2018. Ladler was waived/injured during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019, and reverted to the team's

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

list the next day. He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 5.

Washington Redskins (second stint)

Ladler signed with the Redskins on December 27, 2019, but was released on February 14, 2020.

BC Lions

Ladler signed with the

on February 25, 2020. After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Ladler chose to opt-out of his contract with the Lions on August 31, 2020. He opted back in to his contract on January 19, 2021. He retired from football on June 23, 2021.

References

External links

*
Vanderbilt Commodores bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladler, Kenny 1992 births Living people Players of American football from DeKalb County, Georgia Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state) Sportspeople from Stone Mountain, Georgia Vanderbilt Commodores football players Canadian football linebackers American football safeties Buffalo Bills players Edmonton Elks players Washington Redskins players New York Giants players BC Lions players