Kristopher Rudy-Charles Jenkins (born August 3, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

and New York Jets 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 for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

. He was selected by the Panthers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. A two-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

and four-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection, Jenkins played seven seasons for the Panthers before being traded to the Jets in 2008.

College career

Jenkins played college football at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, where he started 27 of 41 games. He made the second-team All- ACC during his senior season. He finished with 9.5 sacks and 154

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

Professional career

2001 NFL Draft

Jenkins was selected in the second round of the 2001

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

by Carolina.

Carolina Panthers (2001–2007)

Jenkins finished the 2002 season with 60 tackles and 7 sacks, en route to an alternate appearance on the NFC's

team, where he replaced an injured

Warren Sapp Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sapp played college football at Miami, where h ...

. The following season, he helped the Panthers on their way to Super Bowl XXXVIII. In one game against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, Jenkins blocked two kicks: a field goal attempt by

Martin Gramatica Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

, and an extra point attempt that would have won the game. Jenkins' second block marked the first time that an extra point was blocked to send a game into overtime (Carolina later won the game). Jenkins was rewarded with his first Pro Bowl start, and joined teammate

Mike Rucker Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

as half of the NFC's defensive front line. However, the

2004 NFL season The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League. With New England as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005. Hurricanes forced the rescheduling o ...

saw Jenkins suffer a shoulder injury in the second game against Kansas City, and he spent the latter half of the season on injured reserve. His injuries continued during the first game of the 2005 NFL season when he tore his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

and was once again placed on injured reserve.

New York Jets (2008–2010)

On February 29, 2008, the

traded Jenkins to the New York Jets for third- and fifth-round draft picks in the 2008 NFL Draft. The Panthers selected Charles Godfrey and

Gary Barnidge Gary Michael Barnidge (born September 22, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2 ...

with the traded picks. For much of his first season with the Jets, Jenkins was dominant and garnered heavy consideration for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award. On Sunday October 18, 2009, Jenkins left the game against the Buffalo Bills with a left knee injury. The next day, it was reported that he had a torn ACL and would be out for the rest of the season. During the home opener against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

on September 13, 2010, Jenkins was injured as he twisted his leg making a tackle. A few days later, an MRI revealed that Jenkins had again torn his ACL and was out for the rest of the 2010 season. The Jets released Jenkins on February 28, 2011.

Retirement

Jenkins announced his retirement from football on July 20, 2011.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Prior to the

2011 NFL season The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion Ne ...

, Jenkins joined SNY as an analyst for New York Jets. His job included appearing on Jets programs such as pre-game and post-game shows and Jets Game Plan. He is the older brother of former

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

Cullen Jenkins Cullen Darome Jenkins (born January 20, 1981) is a former American football defensive end. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2003. In his last year as a Packer, he won Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steel ...

. His son, also named Kris, plays college football at Michigan.

References

External links

New York Jets bioCarolina Panthers bioMaryland Terrapins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Kris Sportspeople from Ypsilanti, Michigan American Conference Pro Bowl players American football defensive tackles Maryland Terrapins football players Carolina Panthers players National Conference Pro Bowl players New York Jets players 1979 births Living people American people of Welsh descent 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople