Dan Klecko

Dan Klecko

No. --     Free Agent
Defensive tackle/Fullback
Personal information
Date of birth: January 12, 1981 (1981-01-12) (age 30)
Place of birth: Chester, Pennsylvania
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	Weight: 275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
College: Temple
NFL Draft: 2003 / Round: 4 / Pick: 117
Debuted in 2003 for the New England Patriots
Career history
New England Patriots (2003-2005) Indianapolis Colts (2006-2007) Philadelphia Eagles (2008) Atlanta Falcons (2010)* *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Unrestricted Free Agent
Career highlights and awards
3× Super Bowl champion (XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLI) 1× Big East Defensive Player of the Year
Career NFL statistics as of 2008
Tackles	46
Sacks	5.0
INTs	0
Stats at NFL.com

Dan Klecko (born January 12, 1981) is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Temple.

Klecko has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. He has earned three Super Bowl rings in his career - two with the Patriots and one with the Colts. He is the son of former NFL defensive lineman Joe Klecko.

Professional career

New England Patriots

He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round (117th pick overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft. Klecko has been a versatile player; he attended Saint Patrick School in Malvern, PA, Great Valley High School, graduated from Marlboro High School, and then Temple University as an accomplished defensive lineman, but was moved to linebacker in the summer of 2004.^[1] He has seen time on special teams, and in his rookie season was a blocking fullback on five of the Patriots' nine running touchdowns.

Klecko was cut by the Patriots after the 2006 preseason.^[2]

Indianapolis Colts

Shortly after his release from New England, Klecko signed with the Indianapolis Colts.

With the Colts, he occasionally filled in for the injured James Mungro as fullback during the 2006 season. Klecko scored his first career touchdown on a 2nd and goal four-yard pass from Peyton Manning against the Miami Dolphins on December 31, 2006.

He also caught a touchdown against the New England Patriots, his former team, to tie the game in the 3rd quarter of the 2006 AFC Championship game. The Colts went on to win that game. They advanced and won Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Florida.

Klecko was declared an unrestricted free agent on March 2, 2007, but on March 24, 2007 he re-signed with the Colts, agreeing to a one year contract.^[3]

On November 17, 2007, Klecko was waived by the Colts.^[4] He was re-signed three days later.^[5]

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 14, 2008, Klecko was signed by the hometown Philadelphia Eagles,^[6] who intended to convert him back to fullback.^[7] He was brought in to compete with the incumbent Jason Davis. After the Eagles traded for former teammate Luke Lawton, Klecko has been moved back to his natural defensive tackle position.^[8] He registered a sack against the St. Louis Rams in his first game for the Eagles.

On October 8, 2008, it was announced that Klecko would be moved back to fullback. He switched jersey numbers from No. 68 to No. 49. In the 2009 preseason, the Eagles moved Klecko to defensive tackle and switched his jersey number to back to No. 68. He was released from the Eagles on September 5, 2009.

Atlanta Falcons

Klecko signed a reserve/future contract with the Atlanta Falcons on January 11, 2010. He was waived on September 3.

Personal

He is the son of former Pro Bowler Joe Klecko, best known as a tackle for the New York Sack Exchange, the New York Jets defense of the early 1980s, along with defensive end Mark Gastineau, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam.

References

1. ^ ESPN - Lineman progressing in switch to linebacker - NFL
2. ^ http://nwe.scout.com/2/563896.html
3. ^ Yahoo! Sports - Sports News, Scores, Rumors, Fantasy Games, and more
4. ^ Colts deactivate Harrison, Ugoh against Chiefs
5. ^ http://www.colts.com/sub.cfm?page=article7
6. ^ http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=15233
7. ^ http://www.nfl.com/freeagency/story;jsessionid=761A863981E6751052FCAE7C8BBB2EBD?id=09000d5d80738d24&template=without-video&confirm=true
8. ^ http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20080802_Eagles_-_Klecko_a_small_wonder_on_d-line.html

External links

• Indianapolis Colts bio
• New England Patriots bio
• Philadelphia Eagles bio

Persondata
Name	Klecko, Dan
Alternative names
Short description	American football player
Date of birth	January 12, 1981
Place of birth	Chester, Pennsylvania
Date of death
Place of death