Scott Darwin Player (born December 17, 1969) is a former NFL, CFL, and UFL punter. He was signed by the

Birmingham Barracudas The Birmingham Barracudas were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Barracudas were part of a failed attempt to expand the CFL into the United States. Franchise history In the beginning Ins ...

as a

street 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 ...

in 1995. He also 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 ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. Player was also a member of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

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 ...

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 ( ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and

New York Sentinels New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. He was a

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 ...

alternate with the Cardinals in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and a Pro Bowl selection in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Early years

After playing college football at Florida State he became a physical education teacher at Price Middle School until 1994. Afterwards he became a teacher at Family Worship Center Academy through 1995, during which he became the punter for the Barracudas. After his brief stint with the now defunct Barracudas he became the assistant head of fitness for the City of Birmingham, Alabama from March 1996 until October 1997. During his employment in Alabama he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and New York Giants but did not make the final roster on any of these teams. After his tenure with the City of Birmingham, he became a dispatcher at

Roadway Express Roadway Express, Inc. was an American trucking less than truckload (LTL) trucking company. Roadway Express and its holding company, Roadway Corporation, were acquired by logistics holding company Yellow Corporation in 2003 and the parent companie ...

from January 1997 through January 1998, after which he was signed back by the Arizona Cardinals, finally making a roster and remaining with the team until the 2007 preseason.

Professional career

He played ten years in the NFL, nine of which were with the

and a portion of a season with the

. He also played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

and in

NFL Europa 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 ...

with the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

. Player was the last NFL player to wear a one-bar face mask, which was banned by the league in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. His face mask was covered under a

grandfather clause A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

Arizona Cardinals

Player played for the Cardinals between 1998 and 2006, earning a

selection in

. The Cardinals released him on August 29, 2007.

Cleveland Browns

On September 18, 2007 Player was signed by the

after

Dave Zastudil David Michael Zastudil (born October 26, 1978) is a former American football Punter (football), punter. He played college football at Ohio Bobcats football, Ohio, and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. ...

was injured. On October 8, 2007 the Browns released him.Cleveland Browns Release Scott Player

New England Patriots

On April 18, 2008 Player was signed by the

to compete with incumbent Chris Hanson. He was released on June 12, 2008.

New York Sentinels

Player was signed by the

in 2009. UFL rules allowed Player to keep his one-bar face mask during his time with the Sentinels.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Player, Scott 1969 births Living people People from St. Augustine, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football punters Florida State Seminoles football players Birmingham Barracudas players Arizona Cardinals players New York Giants players Frankfurt Galaxy players New York Jets players Cleveland Browns players New England Patriots players National Conference Pro Bowl players New York Sentinels players