Khalen Saunders (born August 9, 1996) is an

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 ...

defensive tackle 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 ...

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 ...

(NFL). He played college football at Western Illinois.

College career

After playing high school football as a running back and a defensive lineman at

Parkway Central High School Parkway Central High School is a public high school in Chesterfield, Missouri that is part of the Parkway School District. History Five elementary school districts merged to form the Parkway Consolidated School District. The name for the distric ...

, Saunders received only one Division I scholarship offer, from Western Illinois. During his career at WIU, Saunders mainly played defensive line but also sporadically continued his career on the offensive side of the ball, recording a rushing and a receiving touchdown in his career. After his senior season, he became the first Leatherneck ever invited to the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

, and while playing in the contest, recorded the game's first sack on

Will Grier William Grier (born April 3, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida and West Virginia and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third ro ...

, earning accolades from Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden. Saunders also picked up exposure over the offseason by having a video of him backflipping featured on prominent draft analyst Adam Schefter's Twitter account; the tweet amassed over 7,000 likes.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Saunders was drafted by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

in the third round with the 84th overall pick the 2019 NFL Draft. Saunders won

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...

when the Chiefs defeated the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

31–20. Saunders was placed on injured reserve on September 19, 2020 after suffering a dislocated elbow in Week 1. He was activated on October 24. On November 30, 2021, Saunders was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on January 24, 2022. In

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, Saunders helped the Chiefs win

Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII is the upcoming championship game of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 NFL season. The game is scheduled to be played on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It will be the fourth Super B ...

against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

38-35 with Saunders two tackles and a sack in the game.

New Orleans Saints

On March 17, 2023, Saunders signed a three-year, $14.5 million contract with the

Personal life

He and his wife Ayanna Saunders had a daughter who was born while he was at the

2019 Senior Bowl The 2019 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game played on January 26, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. CST, at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2019 draft of the professional Nationa ...

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bio

Western Illinois Leathernecks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Khalen 1996 births Living people American football defensive tackles Kansas City Chiefs players New Orleans Saints players People from Chesterfield, Missouri Players of American football from Missouri Sportspeople from St. Louis County, Missouri Western Illinois Leathernecks football players