Dré Bly
Encyclopedia
Donald André "Dré" Bly is a former American football
cornerback
who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League
. After playing college football
for the North Carolina Tar Heels
, Bly was drafted by the St. Louis Rams
in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft
. He spent four seasons with the Rams, earning a Super Bowl ring
with them from Super Bowl XXXIV
, and was selected to two Pro Bowl
s (2003 and 2004) during his four-year tenure with the Detroit Lions
. He played for the Denver Broncos
from 2007–2008 and the San Francisco 49ers
in 2009, and spent an offseason with the Lions again before he announced his retirement from football in November 2011.
in Chesapeake. In high school
, he was an all-state football player as well as a decorated baseball
player.
(UNC), Bly led the nation with 11 interceptions. He received all-American honors, and is only one of five players in NCAA history to achieve this honor as a freshman (Tony Dorsett
, Herschel Walker
, Bjorn Merten, and Marshall Faulk
being the others). Bly was the only football player in UNC and ACC
history to receive consensus 1st team All-America honors three times in his college career. In his sophomore year, he was one of three finalists for the Bronko Nagurski
National Defensive Player of the Year Award. Bly held the ACC record for career interceptions (20), until he was surpassed by Alphonso Smith
of Wake Forest (21).
selected Bly in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft
. Bly started his career in St. Louis, playing there for four years. While with the Rams, Bly received a Super Bowl
ring for Super Bowl XXXIV
, and appeared two years later in Super Bowl XXXVI
, when the Rams lost to the New England Patriots
.
with the Detroit Lions
. He made the Pro Bowl
in two of his seasons with the team.
On November 29, 2005, the day after Lions head coach Steve Mariucci
was fired, Bly told the NFL Network
that if their back-up quarterback, Jeff Garcia
, had been healthy the entire season, the Lions would be in a better situation, and Mariucci would still be coaching the team. He has since apologized, albeit not to Joey Harrington
, the Lions starting quarterback that season.
to the Denver Broncos for running back Tatum Bell
, offensive tackle George Foster
, and a 5th round draft pick. On March 28, 2007, the Denver Broncos
and Bly agreed to a 5-year, $33 million contract. The contract includes $18 million in bonus money and $16 million guaranteed.
Bly finished the 2007 season as the Broncos leader in interceptions with five.
The Broncos restructured Bly's contract on February 18, 2008 to free up salary cap space and keep Bly on the team. As of December 1, 2008, Dre Bly had a total of 98 Tackles and 7 Interceptions with the Broncos.
The Broncos released Bly on February 17, 2009.
.
. Bly was released on Sept. 4, 2010.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. After playing college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels football
The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in collegiate level football. In Carolina’s first 121 seasons of football competition, the Tar Heels have compiled a record of 646–488–54, a winning percentage of .566...
, Bly was drafted by the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft
1999 NFL Draft
The 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...
. He spent four seasons with the Rams, earning a Super Bowl ring
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the winners of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl...
with them from Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
, and was selected to two Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s (2003 and 2004) during his four-year tenure with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. He played for the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 2007–2008 and the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
in 2009, and spent an offseason with the Lions again before he announced his retirement from football in November 2011.
Early years
Bly graduated from Western Branch High SchoolWestern Branch High School
Western Branch High School is a suburban high school in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. Established in 1968, it currently has the largest school population in Chesapeake with over 2200 students. The two feeder schools of WBHS are Joliff Middle School and Western Branch Middle School...
in Chesapeake. In high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, he was an all-state football player as well as a decorated baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player.
College career
In his redshirt freshman season at the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
(UNC), Bly led the nation with 11 interceptions. He received all-American honors, and is only one of five players in NCAA history to achieve this honor as a freshman (Tony Dorsett
Tony Dorsett
Anthony "Tony" Drew Dorsett is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.-Early years:...
, Herschel Walker
Herschel Walker
Herschel Junior Walker is an American mixed martial artist and a former American football player. He played college football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs and earned the 1982 Heisman Trophy. He began his professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League...
, Bjorn Merten, and Marshall Faulk
Marshall Faulk
Marshall William Faulk is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He is currently an analyst for NFL Total Access, Thursday Night Football, and NFL GameDay Morning on the NFL Network...
being the others). Bly was the only football player in UNC and ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
history to receive consensus 1st team All-America honors three times in his college career. In his sophomore year, he was one of three finalists for the Bronko Nagurski
Bronko Nagurski
Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski was a Canadian-born American football player. He was also a successful professional wrestler, recognized as a multiple-time world heavyweight champion.-Youth and collegiate career:...
National Defensive Player of the Year Award. Bly held the ACC record for career interceptions (20), until he was surpassed by Alphonso Smith
Alphonso Smith
Alphonso Smith, Jr. is a professional football cornerback for the Detroit Lions. Smith played college football at Wake Forest...
of Wake Forest (21).
Professional career
Bly, at 186 pounds, ran a 4.51 second 40-yard dash, 4.09 second 20-yard shuttle, 7.10 3-cone drill, and had a vertical jump of 34½ inches at the 1999 NFL CombineNFL Combine
The National Invitational Camp or NFL Scouting Combine, as it is more widely known, is a week-long showcase, occurring every February in Indianapolis, Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium , where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general...
Pre-draft
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis RamsSt. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
selected Bly in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft
1999 NFL Draft
The 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...
. Bly started his career in St. Louis, playing there for four years. While with the Rams, Bly received a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
ring for Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
, and appeared two years later in Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
, when the Rams lost to the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
.
First stint Lions
In 2003, Bly left the St. Louis Rams and signed as a free agentFree agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. He made the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
in two of his seasons with the team.
On November 29, 2005, the day after Lions head coach Steve Mariucci
Steve Mariucci
Stephen Ray "Steve" Mariucci is a former National Football League coach. He coached for the San Francisco 49ers and most recently for the Detroit Lions.-Early career:...
was fired, Bly told the NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
that if their back-up quarterback, Jeff Garcia
Jeff Garcia
Jeffrey Jason "Jeff" Garcia is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at San Jose State University....
, had been healthy the entire season, the Lions would be in a better situation, and Mariucci would still be coaching the team. He has since apologized, albeit not to Joey Harrington
Joey Harrington
John Joseph "Joey" Harrington, Jr. is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions third overall in the 2002 NFL Draft, where he played for most of his professional career. He ranks third all-time in Detroit history in pass completions, with 986...
, the Lions starting quarterback that season.
Denver Broncos
On March 1, 2007, Bly was traded by the Detroit LionsDetroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
to the Denver Broncos for running back Tatum Bell
Tatum Bell
Tatum Antoine Bell is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
, offensive tackle George Foster
George Foster (American football)
George Foster was an American football offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos 20th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft...
, and a 5th round draft pick. On March 28, 2007, the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Bly agreed to a 5-year, $33 million contract. The contract includes $18 million in bonus money and $16 million guaranteed.
Bly finished the 2007 season as the Broncos leader in interceptions with five.
The Broncos restructured Bly's contract on February 18, 2008 to free up salary cap space and keep Bly on the team. As of December 1, 2008, Dre Bly had a total of 98 Tackles and 7 Interceptions with the Broncos.
The Broncos released Bly on February 17, 2009.
San Francisco 49ers
On May 21, 2009, Bly signed a one-year, $845,000 contract with the San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
.
Second stint with Lions
On July 2, 2010, Bly re-signed with the Detroit LionsDetroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. Bly was released on Sept. 4, 2010.