Mark Bernard Word (born November 23, 1975) is a former professional

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 ...

player who played

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

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 ...

for three seasons for 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 tea ...

and the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Professional career

1999

Word was signed by the

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 ...

on April 27, 1999. 2000: Word was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL. He played 9 games and recorded 15 tackles and 3 sacks. He played one game in 2001 after returning from the NFL.

2001

The

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

signed Word on February 2, 2001, and allocated him to

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

on April 17. As a member of the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

he recorded nine total tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles and two passes defensed. He was waived by St. Louis on July 5. Word was signed by the

on July 20. He suffered a shoulder injury during training camp and was forced to spend the rest of the season on the

injured reserve list 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 ...

. In 2002, Word led the Browns with 8.0 sacks. The Browns finished 9-7 and made the playoff as a wildcard team that year. 2005: Word finished out his football career playing for the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. He played seven regular season games and recorded 11 tackles and 2 sacks.cflapedia

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
1975 births Living people Miami Southridge Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami American football defensive ends Canadian football defensive linemen Butler Grizzlies football players Hinds Eagles football players Jacksonville State Gamecocks football players Kansas City Chiefs players Rhein Fire players Cleveland Browns players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Montreal Alouettes players Tampa Bay Storm players Cleveland Gladiators players Players of Canadian football from Miami {{defensive-lineman-1970s-stub