Dan Connolly (American football)
Marquette (Chesterfield, Missouri) | |||||
| College: | Southeast Missouri State | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undrafted: | 2005 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
| |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||
Daniel Paul Connolly (born September 2, 1982) is a former
Early years
Connolly was born in
College career
He was a four-year starting
Professional career
2005 NFL combine
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+5⁄8 in (1.92 m) |
311 lb (141 kg) |
32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
5.23 s | 1.85 s | 3.04 s | 4.54 s | 7.65 s | 28.5 in (0.72 m) |
9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) |
22 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[1]
| ||||||||||||
Jacksonville Jaguars (2005–2007)
Connolly was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent on April 24, 2005. He made the team's 53-man roster and spent the rest of the season on it. He was placed on injured reserve by the Jaguars on September 2, 2006. Connolly was waived by the Jaguars on September 1, 2007.
New England Patriots (2007–2014)
Connolly was signed to the New England Patriots' practice squad on September 13, 2007, where he spent the remainder of the season before being re-signed to a future contract on February 5, 2008. He was then waived by the Patriots on October 20, 2008. He was re-signed to the team's practice squad on October 22. He was promoted to the active roster on December 13, 2008.
Connolly made the 53-man roster in 2009 and started four games at right guard in place of an injured Stephen Neal. During the season, he received a contract extension through the 2011 season.[2]
With veteran starter Logan Mankins missing from the first seven games of the 2010 season due to a contract situation, Connolly started all of those games in his place at left guard. He was a reserve for the team's Week 9 game, but returned to the starting lineup at right guard following a season-ending injury to Neal.
In a December 19, 2010 game against the
At the end of the 2011 season, Connolly and the Patriots appeared in Super Bowl XLVI. He started in the game, but the Patriots lost to the New York Giants by a score of 21–17.[5]
On September 3, 2014, Connolly was named one of the Patriots' six team captains.[6] On February 1, 2015, he was part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks, 28–24.
Retirement
A free agent after the 2014 season, Connolly fielded interest from multiple NFL teams. However, on July 16, 2015, Connolly retired, citing family stability, concussion injuries and winning the Super Bowl as contributing factors.[7]
References
- ^ "2005 NFL Draft Scout Dan Connolly College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ^ Reiss, Mike (December 4, 2009). "Pats follow contract plan with Connolly". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
- ^ Walker, Monique (December 20, 2010). "Dan Connolly: speed to burn". Boston.com. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
- ^ @OnlyInBOS (December 19, 2018). "Dan Connolly set the record for the longest kickoff return by an offensive lineman in NFL history 8 years ago today" (Tweet). Retrieved December 19, 2018 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Super Bowl XLVI - New York Giants vs. New England Patriots - February 5th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. February 5, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
- ^ Yates, Field (September 3, 2014). "Dan Connolly among Patriots captains". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
- ^ Reiss, Mike (July 16, 2015). "Patriots captain Dan Connolly 'at ease' with retirement". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 19, 2017.