No. 8, 9 | |
---|---|
Position: | Quarterback |
Personal information | |
Born: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | September 3, 1995
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Chaminade College Preparatory (Los Angeles, California) |
College: | Miami (FL) |
NFL draft: | 2017 / round: 6 / pick: 215 |
Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Player stats at PFR |
Bradley Mathias Kaaya Jr. (born September 3, 1995) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Miami from 2014 to 2016, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in sixth round of the 2017 NFL draft. Kaaya is the all time passing yards leader at Miami.
Kaaya attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills, Los Angeles, California, where he played high school football for the Eagles. As a senior, he threw for a school-record 3,855 yards and 27 touchdowns. During his high school career, he threw for 5,730 yards and 40 touchdowns while leading his school to their first ever CIF and CA State Championship (2013). He was ranked by the Rivals.com recruiting network as the eighth best pro-style quarterback recruit in his class and was also a member of Nike's Elite 11, showcasing the top 11 quarterback recruits in the nation. [1]
Kaaya was named the Hurricanes starting quarterback as a true freshman over Jake Heaps by head coach Al Golden on August 24, 2014. [2] [3] Kaaya led the Hurricanes to a 6–7 overall record and a bowl appearance, losing to South Carolina in the 2014 Independence Bowl. Kaaya was named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the year following a 2014 regular season in which he led the league in pass efficiency and touchdown passes. [4] In his second year starting, the 2015 Hurricanes improved to 8–5, with a loss to Washington State in the Sun Bowl. Kaaya had the 2016 Hurricanes off to their best start of his career, going 4–1 and reaching as high as #10 in the AP Poll. Miami finished the 2016 season with a 9–4 record and a win over West Virginia in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl. Kaaya was named bowl MVP and became Miami's all-time leader in nearly every passing statistic, including yards.
On January 2, 2017, Kaaya announced that he would be entering the 2017 NFL draft rather than returning to Miami for his final season of eligibility. [5]
Season | Team | GP | Passing | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | |||
2014 | Miami | 13 | 221 | 378 | 58.5 | 3,198 | 26 | 12 |
2015 | Miami | 12 | 238 | 389 | 61.2 | 3,238 | 16 | 5 |
2016 | Miami | 13 | 261 | 421 | 62.0 | 3,532 | 27 | 7 |
Totals | 38 | 696 | 1,188 | 60.6 | 9,968 | 69 | 24 |
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wonderlic | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 3+7⁄8 in (1.93 m) | 214 lb (97 kg) | 32 in (0.81 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 34 | ||||||||
All values from NFL Combine [6] |
The Detroit Lions selected Kaaya in the sixth round (215th overall) of the 2017 NFL draft. [7] He was the ninth quarterback selected in the draft. [8] On May 12, 2017, the Lions signed Kaaya to a four-year, $2.52 million contract with a signing bonus of $123,352. [9] He was waived by the Lions on September 2. [10]
On September 3, 2017, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers. [11] He was waived by the Panthers on October 17. [12]
On October 18, 2017, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by the Lions. [13] On October 23, Kaaya was waived by the Lions and re-signed to the practice squad. [14]
On December 27, 2017, Kaaya was signed by the Indianapolis Colts off the Lions' practice squad. [15]
On August 24, 2018, Kaaya was waived/injured by the Colts and placed on injured reserve. [16] He was waived from injured reserve on February 8, 2019. [17]
On February 11, 2019, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals. [18] However, the Bengals declined to assign him a restricted free agent tender for 2019, making Kaaya an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year in March. [19]
Kaaya's mother, Angela Means, is a vegan cook and former actress, who is best known for her role as Felisha in the 1995 classic film Friday as well as Veda in House Party 3 and Aunt Vanessa in the TV series Cousin Skeeter . [20] [21] His father Brad Kaaya Sr. coached him in Pop Warner football and is a former screenwriter who wrote for the film O and the TV series Cousin Skeeter, Damon , and MADtv . [22] His surname originates from Tanzania. [23]
Kerry Michael Collins is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and Tennessee Titans. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, winning the Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award, and Sammy Baugh Trophy in 1994.
Kenneth Simon Dorsey is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he won the national championship and the Maxwell Award in 2001. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL draft, later playing for the Cleveland Browns and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), before retiring in 2010.
Kevin William O'Connell, nicknamed "KOC", is an American professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). O'Connell played quarterback for the San Diego State Aztecs, and was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. O'Connell also played for the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and San Diego Chargers before retiring in 2012. O'Connell's NFL coaching career began in 2015; he held various assistant coaching roles on the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, and Los Angeles Rams.
Anthony Tremaine Hills is a former American football offensive tackle who won championships at both the collegiate and pro levels. He spent nine years in the National Football League (NFL) and played in six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, and New Orleans Saints. He also spent time in training camp or on practice squads with the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens, and Detroit Lions. He won a Super Bowl ring, for Super Bowl XLIII, with Pittsburgh and played in another Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLV, with the same team.
Joseph Webb III is a former American football quarterback. He also played as a wide receiver, kick returner and special teamer. After playing college football for the UAB Blazers, Webb was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft as a quarterback. He also played for the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and New York Giants. Webb holds the NFL record for most tackles by a quarterback with 21.
Thomas Benjamin Savage is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Rutgers, Arizona, and Pittsburgh and was selected by the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft.
Jake Heaps is a former American professional football quarterback who is the personal quarterback coach for Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Heaps played for three universities during his collegiate career including Miami (FL), Kansas and Brigham Young. Heaps worked as a radio host on 710 ESPN Seattle in addition to working for the Russell Wilson Passing Academy.
Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Brett Alan Hundley Jr. is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, where he was the school's career leader in both total offense and touchdown passes. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft, and started nine games for them in 2017, following a collarbone injury to Aaron Rodgers.
Stephen Morris is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Miami, and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Morris has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, and Orlando Apollos.
Daniel Patrick Etling is an American professional football quarterback for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and LSU Tigers, and was selected by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft. Etling has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, BC Lions, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Michigan Panthers.
William Grier is an American professional football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and West Virginia Mountaineers and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round in the 2019 NFL draft.
Jacob Henry Eason is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Washington Huskies and Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Jacob Michael Rudock is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was a starting quarterback playing college football for the 2013 and 2014 Iowa Hawkeyes and 2015 Michigan Wolverines. He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Nathan Michael Sudfeld is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Indiana and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round in the 2016 NFL draft. Sudfeld also spent four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles as a backup quarterback, seeing occasional playing time and was a part of their Super Bowl LII-winning team.
Cornelius Marquis Elder is an American professional football cornerback for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Miami and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft. Elder has also been a member of the New York Giants, Detroit Lions, and Washington Football Team.
Phillip "P. J." Walker Jr. is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Walker played college football at Temple, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts in 2017. He also played for the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2020, leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns before it suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Isaac "Ike" Boettger is an American professional football guard who is a free agent. He played college football at Iowa.
Michael Badgleybadge-LEE;, nicknamed "the Money Badger", is an American professional football placekicker for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts in 2018. Badgley has also played for the Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears, and Tennessee Titans.
Nathan Rourke is a Canadian professional football quarterback for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Rourke played college football for the Ohio Bobcats. Rourke set the single-season CFL record for completion percentage (78.7%) during the 2022 CFL season.