Kyle Eckel

Kyle Eckel (born December 30, 1981) was an American football fullback in the National Football League. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and won Super Bowl XLIV with the New Orleans Saints. He played college football at Navy.

Eckel has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.

Early years
Eckel attended Holy Spirit School in South Philadelphia throughout his elementary school life where he played baseball and basketball. He played football for St. Monica's School since Holy Spirit didn't have a program. Changing parishes in his 8th grade year, Eckel was able to attend and graduate Holy Spriit while playing football for The Saint Denis Bulldogs of Havertown, PA. He then attended Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was a student and a letterman in football (3 years), baseball (3 years), and ice hockey (1 year). In football, he was a two-time first team All-Area and All-League selection and as a senior, while captaining his team, also garnered first team All-City honors and All-Area as a middle linebacker. Eckel amassed nearly 3,000 rushing yards in his high school career and 40 touchdowns. While playing baseball for the Churchmen of Episcopal Academy, Eckel recorded a .460 batting average during his junior season earning all city honors as well as All League/Area selections. He helped the Churchmen win their first league title in 50 years. As a senior Eckel earned similar accolades, helped the Churchmen win another league title, and was selected to the All-League and All-Area teams. Eckel was most recently added to Ted Silary's "30 Year Inter-AC Football All-Star" team.

College career
Eckel attended the Naval Academy and was ranked as a preseason All-American and the top NFL fullback prospect in the country by draftboardinsider.com prior to his senior season at the Academy. He was also nominated as a preseason candidate for the 2004 Doak Walker Award. He rushed for 1,147 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior, notably rushing 26 times for a career-high 179 yards and one touchdown against Army en route to being named the Philadelphia Sportswriters Most Valuable Player of the Army-Navy game for the second consecutive year. Eckel collected 13-career 100-yard rushing games, the fourth most in school history, and became just the third player in school history to twice gain 1,000 yards rushing in a single season. As a junior, Eckel carried the ball 236 times for 1,249 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named to the All-Independent team by College Football News. As a sophomore, Eckel rushed for 510 yards and 4 touchdowns before having his season cut short by injury. He finished his career with 2,906 rushing yards, which ranks fourth all-time at Navy, and registered 25 career rushing touchdowns, the fourth most in school history. He graduated from The Academy in 2005 with a bachelors of science in economics and was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy. He resigned his commission in October, 2007.

First stint with Patriots
Eckel was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent on April 26, 2005. He was waived by the team on September 3.

Miami Dolphins
Eckel was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins and subsequently placed on the Reserve/Military list on September 7, 2005 - just days after being claimed by the Dolphins.

The Dolphins received a roster exemption for Eckel after his return to the team, allowing him to practice without counting against roster limits. He was not activated during the season, and was an exclusive rights free agent in the 2007 offseason. He was re-signed to a one-year contract on March 19, 2007, but released on September 1, 2007 during final cuts.

Second stint with Patriots
Eckel was signed to the Patriots' practice squad on September 3, 2007, at a salary of $125,000, significantly higher than that season's base salary for practice squad players ($79,900). He was promoted to the active roster on October 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Eckel made his regular season debut in that Monday Night Football contest, playing on special teams for much of the game recording 1 tackle and getting his first carry (for three yards) in the fourth quarter. He scored his first NFL touchdown in the final minute of the Patriots' Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys, and a second in their Week 10 rout of the Buffalo Bills. In the week 9 match up between the undefeated Patriots and undefeated Indianapolis Colts Eckel led all players with 3 special teams tackles in a Patriots 24-20 win.

The Patriots released Eckel on August 26, 2008, in the first round of preseason cuts. He was re-signed to the Patriots roster on September 15, 2008, the day after their Week 2 game. The Patriots again released Eckel on September 22, 2008.

Philadelphia Eagles
Eckel was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles on October 21, 2008 where he played much of the season as a special teams starter and short yardage running back. He made his Eagles debut on Thursday, November 27 against the Arizona Cardinals on Thanksgiving Day. His first play as an Eagle came in the first quarter on a 3rd and 1 at the Cardinals 37 yard line. Eckel finished the game with 6 carries for 27 yards. He was waived on September 5, 2009 at the conclusion of training camp.

New Orleans Saints
On October 29, 2009 the New Orleans Saints announced that they had signed Eckel to their roster. Eckel was primarily a fullback and special teams player on the 2009 New Orleans Saints that won Super Bowl XLIV against the Indianapolis Colts 31-17.

Denver Broncos
Eckel was signed by the Denver Broncos on June 4, 2010. He was waived/injured on June 17, and subsequently placed on injured reserve on June 21.