Tom Kennedy (wide receiver)

Tom Kennedy (born July 29, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) and former professional lacrosse player. He played college football at Bryant. As of 2020, he was the only person to have played in both Major League Lacrosse and the NFL.

Tom Kennedy
No. 85 – Detroit Lions
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1996-07-29) July 29, 1996
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Farmingdale
(Farmingdale, New York)
College:Bryant
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Reserve/Future
Career highlights and awards
  • First team All-NEC (2017)
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

College career

Kennedy committed to play both football and lacrosse at Bryant University. He initially quit football after his freshman year in order to focus on lacrosse and was a first team All-Northeast Conference selection midfielder in 2017 as he helped the team to an appearance in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. He ultimately decided to return to football going into his senior year and was named first team All-NEC after catching 57 passes for 888 yards and nine touchdowns, while also rushing 66 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. Kennedy was again named All-NEC at midfielder in his final lacrosse season. He returned to Bryant from playing professional lacrosse to play a final season of college football and had 33 receptions for 410 yards and a touchdown.[1]

Professional lacrosse career

Kennedy was drafted in the third round of the 2018 Major League Lacrosse Draft by the Boston Cannons. He played in six games for the team during the 2018 season before leaving to play football at Bryant as a graduate student.[2]

Professional football career

Kennedy signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2019 after participating in a rookie minicamp.[3] He was waived on August 31, 2019 as part of final roster cuts at the end of training camp but was re-signed to the team's practice squad the following day.[4] Kennedy was promoted to the Lions' active roster on September 27, 2019.[5] Kennedy made his NFL debut on September 29, 2019 against the Kansas City Chiefs.[6] He was waived on October 14 and re-signed to the practice squad.[7] On December 30, 2019, Kennedy was signed to a reserve/future contract.[8]

On September 5, 2020, Kennedy was waived by the Lions and signed to the practice squad the next day.[9][10] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 5, 2021.[11]

References
  1. Rothstein, Michael (June 12, 2019). "Why ex-lacrosse pro is chasing NFL dreams with the Lions". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  2. "Former Cannon Tom Kennedy Makes Detroit Lions Practice Squad". Cannons.MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  3. Schlitt, Erik (May 12, 2019). "Lions sign 2 WRs, release 2 TEs following rookie minicamp". Lions Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  4. Meinke, Kyle (September 1, 2019). "Detroit Lions sign 10 players to practice squad". MLive.com. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  5. Alper, Josh (September 27, 2019). "Lions promote WR Tom Kennedy from practice squad". Profootballtalk.com.
  6. Schlitt, Erik (September 30, 2019). "Lions week 4 snap counts: McKissic, Ford and Wilson see increased roles due to injury". Lions Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  7. "Lions sign DT John Atkins to active roster". DetroitLions.com. October 14, 2019.
  8. "Lions report 11 Reserve/Future signings". DetroitLions.com. December 30, 2019.
  9. "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. September 5, 2020.
  10. "Lions establish practice squad". DetroitLions.com. September 6, 2020.
  11. "Lions announce Reserve/Future signings". DetroitLions.com. January 5, 2021.
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