Paul L. Bradford (born April 20, 1974) is a former American football cornerback. 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 Portland State. He was drafted by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the fifth round (146th overall) of the

1997 NFL draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

Early years

Bradford attended Carlmont High School where he was an All-state honorable mention

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He then attended College of San Mateo and lettered twice in football. He then transferred to Portland State University where he majored in physical education. In two seasons at Portland State, he recorded 80 tackles, four interceptions, and 13 pass deflections.

Professional career

Bradford was drafted in the fifth round (146th overall) by the

. As a rookie, he appeared in 15 games with four starts. All four starts came at left cornerback. He recorded 23 total tackles, two interceptions (one for a touchdown), one fumble recovery (for a touchdown) and seven passes defensed. He recorded his first interception while replacing

Dwayne Harper Dwayne Harper (born March 29, 1966) is an American former professional American football, foobtall player who was a cornerback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina State Bulldogs ...

during Week 10 against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, intercepting Warren Moon, it was also his only interception returned for a touchdown. He started in place of the injured Harper the next week, intercepting a Jeff George pass intended James Jett. On August 15, 1998, he re-signed with the Chargers. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, he injured his

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

and was placed on

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 ...

, resulting in his missing the entire season. He was re-signed by the Chargers on April 2, 1999. He was released on September 5, 1999. On March 7, 2000, he was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. He was released on July 5, 2000. Bradford was selected in the sixth (44th overall) in the 2001 XFL Draft by the Las Vegas Outlaws.

Personal life

Bradford is married to his wife Margarita, the couple have 2 daughters and 2 sons, and reside in East Palo Alto.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Paul 1974 births Living people American football defensive backs Portland State Vikings football players San Diego Chargers players Minnesota Vikings players Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL) players San Mateo Bulldogs football players Players of American football from East Palo Alto, California