Thomas Edward Gafford (born January 29, 1983) 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 wi ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers 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 ...

in 2006. He played college football at

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. Gafford has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks,

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 ...

, Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders,

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Early years

Gafford attended

Clear Brook High School Clear Brook High School is a secondary school located in Friendswood, Texas, United States. Notable alumni *Stephanie Beatriz, actress * Ben Emanuel, Safety, Calgary Stampeders CFL * Anthony Hill, NFL tight end *Ronnie Price, National Basketba ...

in Friendswood, Texas, and was president of the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was foun ...

, and a letterman in football. As a senior, he was named both Most Valuable Player and Receiver of the Year for the Clear Brook High School football team.

College career

Gafford was a four-year letterman at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

and played in 47 games for the Cougars football team. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Gafford was signed by the Green Bay Packers on February 7, 2006, after going undrafted in the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 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 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

and unsigned for the entire 2005 season. On August 29, 2006, he was waived by the Packers.

Seattle Seahawks

On January 17, 2007, Gafford was signed by the Seattle Seahawks. He was waived by the Seahawks on June 20, 2007.

Second stint with Packers

Gafford was re-signed by the Packers on March 5, 2008. On August 4, 2008, he was released by the Packers.

Chicago Bears

On August 19, 2008, Gafford was signed by the Chicago Bears. He was waived by the Bears on August 31, 2008.

Kansas City Chiefs

Gafford was signed by the

on October 29, 2008 after

J. P. Darche was placed on injured reserve. He made his professional debut on November 2 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 ...

and went on to serve as the long snapper during the team's final nine games. Gafford was waived by the Chiefs on June 19, 2009. The team re-signed him on August 13 after waiving long snapper Tanner Purdum. In 2011, despite being a long snapper, Gafford recorded 3 tackles.

Chicago Bears (second stint)

On March 18, 2015, Gafford signed a one-year contract with the Bears. He was released on November 28, 2015.

Oakland Raiders

On December 15, 2015, Gafford was signed after

Jon Condo Jonathan Condo (born August 26, 1981) is an American former professional football long snapper who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Oakland Raiders, the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers. He played college footb ...

sustained an injury during a win over the

Denver Broncos

On November 25, 2016, Gafford was signed by the Broncos.

New Orleans Saints

On June 16, 2017, Gafford signed with the

. He was released on August 6, 2017.

Personal life

Gafford is married and has two twin daughters. Gafford is a Christian.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bioKansas City Chiefs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gafford, Thomas 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Texas American football long snappers Houston Cougars football players Green Bay Packers players Seattle Seahawks players Chicago Bears players Kansas City Chiefs players Oakland Raiders players Denver Broncos players New Orleans Saints players