Kingsley-Collins Ezenna Keke (born September 26, 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 with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

who is 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 ...

. 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 A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, and was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the fifth round of the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

High school career

Kingsley Keke played football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

George Ranch High School George Ranch High School is a secondary school located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, south of Richmond. The school is part of the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District. The school was established in fall 2010 ...

Richmond, Texas Richmond is a city in and the county seat of Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. The city is located within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 11,627. It is home to the founder ...

. As a senior, Keke made sixty tackles, ten tackles for loss, five sacks, blocked a pair of kicks, and was a finalist for the Greater Houston Rotary Lombardi Award.

College career

Keke played at Texas A&M from 2015 to 2018. In his career at Texas A&M, he recorded one hundred fifty total tackles, twenty-one tackles for loss, and twelve sacks.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Keke was drafted by the

in the fifth round, 150th overall, in the

. On May 3, 2019, he signed his rookie contract with the Packers. In Week 3 of the 2020 season against 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 ...

, Keke recorded his first two career sacks on

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is the NFL leader in ...

during the 37–30 win. In Week 13 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 plays ...

, he sacked

Carson Wentz Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Wentz played college football at North Dakota State, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS nat ...

twice and had four total tackles (two for loss) during the 30–16 win. On January 19, 2022, Keke was released by the Packers. He was claimed the following day by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Houston Texans

On January 20, 2022, Keke was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived on May 3, 2022.

Arizona Cardinals

On May 13, 2022, Keke signed with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He was released on August 14, 2022.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Keke spent a year in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

during his childhood.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bioTexas A&M Aggies bio
1996 births Living people People from Richmond, Texas Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from the Houston metropolitan area American football defensive tackles Texas A&M Aggies football players Green Bay Packers players Houston Texans players Arizona Cardinals players {{Defensive-lineman-1990s-stub