Sean Joseph Morey (born February 26, 1976) is a former
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 ...
wide receiver 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 ...
(NFL). 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
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
. He was drafted by the
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 ...
in the seventh round of the
1999 NFL Draft. Morey also played for 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 ...
,
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
and
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 earned a
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...
with the Steelers in
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...
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 ...
.
Early years
Morey graduated from
Marshfield High School of
Marshfield, Massachusetts
Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore. The population was 25,825 at the 2020 census.
It includes the census-designated places (CDPs) of Marshfield, Marshfield Hills, Ocean Bluf ...
in 1994. Because of his light weight, Morey did not receive a scholarship offer from his dream school
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
and had a partial scholarship offer from
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
, so he decided to attend
Hebron Academy
Hebron Academy, founded in 1804, is a small, independent, college preparatory boarding and day school for boys and girls in grades six through postgraduate in Hebron, Maine.
History
Hebron Academy is one of the nation's oldest endowed preparatory ...
.
At Hebron, Morey led the football team to win the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
Prep School Class D Championship in 1994. He would win All-Evergreen League Team, Evergreen League MVP, and Class D New England Player of the Year while playing football for Hebron.
He played both
wide receiver and
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
while in high school.
College career
After graduating from Hebron Academy, he attended
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, where he finished with an
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
record 251 receptions for 3,850 yards and 40 touchdowns, and was voted Ivy League player of the year in 1997 — when he caught 74 passes for an Ivy League-record 1,434 yards and 15 touchdowns. Sean was one of seven Brown players selected as First-Team All-Ivy League in 1998, including Stephen Campbell (WR), Zack Burns (TE), Tim Hevesy (C), James Perry (QB), Alex Pittz (CB) and Ephraim "Fry" Wernick (DL). Sean Morey finished his career second in all-time receiving yards in Division I-AA behind only Jerry Rice. After his college career, Sean was the first Brown player to have his number retired. He also earned a degree with honors in organizational behavior and management.
Morey won the Ivy League Bushnell Cup in 1997.
Professional career
New England Patriots
Morey was originally selected with the 35th pick of the seventh round of the
1999 NFL Draft by the
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 ...
. He remained with the Patriots until the end of the 2000 season, with the majority of his time being spent on the practice squad. Sean Morey caught Tom Brady's first career pass.
Philadelphia Eagles
In 2001 Morey joined 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 ...
where he would become 2003 Special Teams MVP. That same year he was nominated for Dr. Z's (''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'') All-Pro team as a special teams player. Also in 2003, Morey became the 12th player in
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 ...
history to catch 3 touchdown passes in a game while playing for the
Barcelona Dragons.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers acquired Morey September 6, 2004 as an unrestricted free agent. He was captain of special teams for Pittsburgh. Morey's role for the Steelers was mostly special teams; he did not usually line up at wide receiver. In 2006, Morey's role expanded because of injuries to wide receivers
Hines Ward
Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American football coach and former wide receiver of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ...
and
Cedrick Wilson. He finished the season with just 2 receptions (bringing his career total to 3), but also contributed with his blocking and with his work on special teams. He collected a team-high 21 special teams tackles while also returning eight kickoffs for 202 yards (25.3 yard avg.). In a Week 11 24-20 victory over the Browns, he had a 76-yard kickoff return.
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals signed Morey on March 15, 2007 to a three-year free agent contract. Morey rejoined ex-Steeler coaches
Ken Whisenhunt
Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end who is currently an offensive analyst for Penn State. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was drafted in the twelfth round of the 198 ...
(head coach),
Russ Grimm
Russell Scott Grimm (born May 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served as an assistant coach for the Redskins, Pittsburgh St ...
(assistant head coach / offensive line) and
Kevin Spencer (special teams) in Arizona.
The Cardinals released Morey on March 17, 2008, but re-signed him on March 26.
Morey blocked a punt in overtime against the Cowboys on October 12, 2008 that was run in by teammate,
Monty Beisel
Monty Gene Beisel (; born August 20, 1978) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas State.
Beisel also played for the N ...
, for the game-winning touchdown. It was the first time in NFL history that a game was ended in overtime by a blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown.
Morey was selected to the
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 ...
in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
as a special teamer.
Seattle Seahawks
Morey signed with 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 ...
on March 29, 2010. He never played a game for them, however, announcing his retirement due to concussions just hours before the start of training camp on July 31.
Coaching
In February 2014, Morey accepted the head coach position for the
Sprint Football
Sprint football, formerly called lightweight football, is a varsity sport played by United States colleges and universities, under standard American football rules. As of the 2022 season, the sport is governed by the Collegiate Sprint Football ...
team at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
. For the two previous years, he was a Department of Athletics Fellow for general administration at Princeton. Princeton shut down the sprint football team after two seasons with Morey as coach; Morey failed to win a single game as coach of the Tigers, continuing a 16-year-long
losing streak
''Losing Streak'' is the second studio album by ska punk band Less Than Jake, released on November 12, 1996 on Capitol Records. The album was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida and Mirror Image Studios in Gainesville, Florida, bo ...
.
Now, Morey is a high school football coach at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey as a Defensive Coordinator.
Concussion activism
In May 2014, Morey, along with a group of plaintiffs, filed a formal objection to the
National Football League Players' Concussion Injury Litigation and Proposed Settlement being overseen by US District Court Judge
Anita Brody
Anita Jane Brody (née Blumstein; born May 25, 1935), also known as Anita Blumstein Brody, is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Education and career
Brody was bor ...
. The objection sought to highlight what some players see as a narrow scope of the settlement, claiming, among other things, that "The settlement would have compensated only a small subset of
ild-traumatic-brain-injury-relatedinjuries to the exclusion of all others."
Personal
His wife,
Cara
Cara or CARA may refer to:
Places
* Čara, a village on the island of Korčula, Croatia
* Cara, a village in Cojocna Commune, Cluj County, Romania
* Cara Island
Cara Island ( gd, Cara) is a small island which is located off the west coast o ...
formerly played defense for the
Brampton Thunder
The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, O ...
of the
Canadian Women's Hockey League
The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league ...
in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
after starting at Brown in
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
and
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
. His father, Dennis, was also a semi-pro football player with several teams, including the Brockton, MA Pros, his grandfather, Joe, and his great uncle, Dick, both have been inducted to the Bridgewater State Hall of Fame for basketball. He has three daughters, Devan, Kathryn "Kate", and Shea "Piper".
Morey was featured on an episode of the Canadian sports/comedy program ''Cabbie on the Street'', where it was revealed he lives in Toronto during the offseason. Morey appeared in ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
s "
Faces in the Crowd" feature in the magazine's January 12, 1998 issue.
Morey and his wife Cara were featured in a November 2007 episode of the
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
show ''
Divine Design
''Divine Design'' is a Canadian interior design show which airs on W Network in Canada and HGTV in the United States. It is hosted by Candice Olson, one of Canada's top designers. In the show, Olson heads a team of artisans and skilled labourers ...
''.
In October 2010, Morey was named co-chair of the NFL Players Association's newly formed Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. Morey suffered more than twenty concussions in his career. Morey's committee has two main goals: the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of concussions and traumatic brain injuries in active players and research into the long-term cumulative effects of such injuries on NFL players.
On January 31, 2014, Morey and his wife were interviewed about traumatic brain injury in football players by Melissa Block on NPR's "All Things Considered."
See also
*
Living former players diagnosed with or reporting symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy
References
External links
Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morey, Sean
1976 births
Living people
People from Marshfield, Massachusetts
Sportspeople from Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Players of American football from Massachusetts
American football wide receivers
Brown Bears football players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
New England Patriots players
Barcelona Dragons players
Philadelphia Eagles players
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Arizona Cardinals players
Seattle Seahawks players
Concussion activists
Hebron Academy alumni