Michael Wright (born March 1, 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

who played for the New England Patriots of 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 ...

. He was originally signed by the Patriots 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 2005. He played college football at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Early years

Wright was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. He graduated from

Purcell Marian High School Purcell Marian High School is a parochial high school in the East Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, based in the Marianist tradition. It is located in the DeSales Corner business district, along Madison Road. Purcell ...

in Cincinnati in 2000. He was a letterman and a starter for two years; as a senior, he won All-City and All-State honors.

College career

After high school, Wright attended Ashland University, where he played football for a season in 2000. In 2001, he transferred to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

, where he walked-on to the football team. He was

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ed his freshman season in 2001, and missed his sophomore season in 2002 with a knee injury. In 2003, he made six starts on the defensive line for Cincinnati and was named the team's defensive newcomer of the year. Wright recorded 42 tackles in his senior season in 2004 in addition to blocking an extra point.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Wright was signed by the New England Patriots 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 ...

. He made the Patriots' roster out of training camp and played in 13 games in his 2005 rookie season. He was placed on injured reserve on January 6, 2007, and missed the team's two

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

games. In the second week of the 2006 season, Wright made his first career start, and made four overall starts on the year. He led the team once in tackles and twice in special teams tackles in 2006. Wright played in nine games in 2007 before being placed on injured reserve on December 13. He returned 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; ...

to play in all 16 games, starting two. He finished the season with a career-high 2.5 sacks and 33 tackles. Wright was re-signed by the Patriots to a four-year contract in March 2009 after failing to find a starting job on the

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 ...

market. Wright played in all 16 games for the Patriots in 2009, starting nine. He finished the season with 35 tackles and five sacks. In 2010, Wright missed the final six games of the regular season with a concussion, but recorded 14 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his 10 games played (five starts). Wright was placed on injured reserve on January 7, 2011, during the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, after having not played since November 21, 2010. In 2011 Wright started in the season opener against the Dolphins in Miami. In that game he recorded 1 tackle half a sack while putting consistent pressure on Dolphins quarterback

Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. While there, Henne became only the second true freshman st ...

. He suffered from a concussion in this game and another some time soon after. He was cut from the Patriots on February 22, 2012.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Mike 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Cincinnati American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Ashland Eagles football players Cincinnati Bearcats football players New England Patriots players