Kevin Bradley Burnett (born December 24, 1982) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

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 the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, San Diego Chargers,

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

and Oakland Raiders. He played college football at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

Early years

Burnett attended Carson High School, before transferring after his sophomore season to

Dominguez High School Manuel Dominguez High School is a four-year public high school located in Compton, California. It is part of the Compton Unified School District. Name Dominguez High School is named after Don Manuel Domínguez, a California rancher. Domínguez i ...

. He played

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

while helping his team reach two consecutive playoff appearances. As a senior, he had 48 carries for 650 yards and 16

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. He was a member of the 1999 Prep Star All-American team, a second-team All-State choice, and a member of the "Best of the West" by the ''

Long Beach Press-Telegram The ''Press-Telegram'' is a paid daily newspaper published in Long Beach, California. Coverage area for the ''Press-Telegram'' includes Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Ly ...

''.

College career

Burnett accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a true freshman in 2000, he was switched from free safety to outside linebacker midway through the season and played mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. As a sophomore in 2001, he started 2 games, finishing with 52 tackles (6.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks and 3 passes defensed. In 2002, he was lost for the year after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the season opener. As a junior in 2003, he started 12 out of 13 games, posting 90 tackles (7.5 for loss), 8 quarterback pressures, 1. 5 sacks and 3 passes defensed. He was named honorable-mention All-SEC and along with Michael Muñoz, became the first Vols juniors since 1944 to serve as team captains. As a senior in 2004, he registered 120 tackles (second on the team), 6 tackles for loss, 7

tackles (tied for the team lead), one sack, one interception. Against the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, he tallied a career-high with 16 tackles (10 solo). Along with Michael Muñoz, became the first Vols two-time captains since J. G. Lowe earned that honor in 1924-1925. He received first-team All-SEC and All-American honors. Burnett was also a semi-finalist for the Dick Butkus and Chuck Bednarick Awards.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Burnett was selected by the

in the second round (42nd overall) of 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 ...

. He played sparingly as a rookie, after having problems with injuries in both of his knees. He was placed 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 ...

on December 29, after tearing his right ACL during a practice. He finished the season with 11

tackles (tied for fourth on the team). In 2006, he was the backup behind

DeMarcus Ware DeMarcus Omar Ware (born July 31, 1982) is an American former football outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Troy University and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the 11th overall pick in th ...

, posting 40 tackles (29 solo), 16

tackles (second on the team), one sack, 2 forced fumbles, one interception (returned for a touchdown against Peyton Manning). The next year, he was a backup at

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and started 2 games in place of

Akin Ayodele Akinola James Ayodele (; born September 17, 1979) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills. He was drafted by the Jacksonville J ...

. He registered 52 tackles (eighth on the team), 46 solo tackles, 18

tackles (tied for third on the team), 2 passes defensed and one forced fumble. 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; ...

, he finished with 2 starts, 38 tackles (29 solo), 2 sacks and 3 passes defensed. During his time with the Cowboys he proved to be a quality backup (he only started 4 games), that was valuable as a coverage

and

player. He played mostly in the

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

and

dime defense In American football, the dime defense is a defensive alignment that uses six defensive backs. It is usually employed in obvious passing situations. The formation usually consists of six defensive backs, usually two safeties, and four cornerbac ...

San Diego Chargers

On March 10, 2009, he signed as a

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 ...

with the San Diego Chargers, looking to become a starter. He played in 11 games (7 starts), posting 66 tackles (49 solo), 2.5 sacks and one pass defensed. In 2010, he started every game at

, finishing with 95 tackles (80 solo), 6 sacks (tied for third on the team), 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles. He contributed to the Chargers leading the NFL in total defense and pass defense, while ranking fourth against the run.

Miami Dolphins

On July 29, 2011, he signed as a

with the

, reuniting with head coach Tony Sparano, who was the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

coach during his time with the Cowboys. He started every game, registering 105 tackles (second on the team) and 2.5 sacks. He joined

Yeremiah Bell Yeremiah Neavius Bell (born March 3, 1978) is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Kentucky and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 200 ...

(107 tackles) and

Karlos Dansby Karlos Montez Dansby (born November 3, 1981) is a former American football outside linebacker. He played college football for Auburn University and received All-American recognition. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round ...

(103 tackles), to mark the first time in franchise history that three players had 100 or more tackles in the same season. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, he had career-highs with 110 tackles (80 solo), 2.5 sacks and 5 passes defensed. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, after the team signed

s Philip Wheeler and Dannell Ellerbe, he was released on March 12.

Oakland Raiders

On March 17,

, Burnett was signed by the Oakland Raiders as a

. He started all 16 games primarily at

weakside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, finishing with 129 tackles (third on the team), 2.5 sacks, one interception, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Along with his brother Kaelin, they became the first set of brothers in franchise history to play in the same regular-season game. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, after not being able to recover from an injured ankle he suffered in the second organized team activities session, he was waived on July 24.

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: touchdown * PD: passes defensed

Personal life

Burnett is the cousin of

Amir Johnson Amir Jalla Johnson (born May 1, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League. He has previously played for the Detroit Pistons, the team that selected Johnson in the second rou ...

, played forward in the NBA. His brother Kaelin Burnett played

in the NFL. He is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, initiated Spring 2004 via Iota Beta chapter.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, Kevin 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Compton, California American football linebackers Tennessee Volunteers football players Dallas Cowboys players San Diego Chargers players Miami Dolphins players Oakland Raiders players