Kelvin Darnell Hayden Jr. (born July 23, 1983) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Illinois and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. In Super Bowl XLI he returned a Rex Grossman interception (the first of his career) 56 yards for a touchdown in a win over his hometown team, the Chicago Bears. Hayden also played for the Bears and the Atlanta Falcons.

Kelvin Hayden
refer to caption
Hayden in December 2010
No. 26, 24
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1983-07-23) July 23, 1983 (age 40)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Hubbard (Chicago, Illinois)
College:Illinois
NFL draft:2005 / Round: 2 / Pick: 60
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:363
Forced fumbles:4
Fumble recoveries:6
Pass deflections:46
Interceptions:12
Defensive touchdowns:4
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years edit

Hayden attended Chicago's Hubbard High School, where he was a four-year starter in football. As a freshman cornerback, he was a first-team All-PowerBar team selection and an All-Area selection after posting ten interceptions. As a sophomore quarterback, he passed for 21 touchdowns and rushed for seven more scores. As a junior tailback, he rushed for 2,135 yards (1,952 m), and was an All-Conference pick and an All-Area selection.

Hayden was a Chicago Bears fan during his youth.[1]

College career edit

Joliet Junior College edit

Hayden attended Joliet Junior College for two years, where he finished his career with 115 receptions for 1,839 yards (16.13 yards per rec. avg.) and 17 touchdowns and was a two-time All-Conference and an All-Region pick. After losing his first junior college game, he led Joliet JC to 21 consecutive victories and the 2002 NJCAA National Championship.

As a sophomore, he was the NJCAA National Offensive National Player of the Year, won first-team JC All-America accolades, and was named the Conference Player of the Year, after making 72 receptions for 1,297 yards(18.1 yards per rec. avg.) and 13 touchdowns. He was also named the MVP of the 2002 NCAA National Championship game. As a freshman, he made 42 receptions for 542 yards (12.9 yards per rec. avg.) and four touchdowns. He then transferred to Illinois.

University of Illinois edit

In 2003, Hayden led the Fighting Illini in receptions and receiving yards with 52 receptions for 592 yards. Prior to the 2004 season, he switched to cornerback. He started all 11 games and had 71 tackles and four interceptions.

Professional career edit

2005 NFL Draft edit

Hayden was drafted in the second round (60th overall) by the Indianapolis Colts.[2]

Indianapolis Colts (2005–2010) edit

In his second season, Hayden recorded his first career interception in Super Bowl XLI when he took a Rex Grossman pass 56 yards for a touchdown, en route to a Colts 29–17 victory over the Chicago Bears.[3] His stats as a Colt were 239 total tackles and 9 interceptions, including three returned for touchdowns. Hayden also scored a touchdown on a 26-yard fumble recovery in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2006 season.

Atlanta Falcons (2011) edit

Hayden had 16 total tackles and two interceptions during his one-year tenure in Atlanta.

Chicago Bears (2012–2014) edit

On April 5, 2012, he signed with the Chicago Bears on a 1-year contract worth $825,000.[3][4] In Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans, Hayden recovered two forced fumbles.[1] In 2012, Hayden and four other players led the league in defensive fumble recoveries with four.[5] Despite becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2013, on March 26, Hayden signed a one-year deal to return to the Bears.[6] On August 7, 2013, the Bears announced that Hayden suffered a torn hamstring and would miss the entire 2013 season.[7] The injury occurred during Family Fest practice at Soldier Field on August 3, 2013.[8] Hayden was eventually placed on injured reserve.[9] Hayden became a free agent after the 2013 season, but was resigned on February 28, 2014.[10] On August 30, 2014, the Bears waived him along with others during their final roster cuts.[11] On September 2, 2014, he was re-signed by the Bears to fill an opening on the roster when wide receiver Marquess Wilson was placed on injured reserve.[12] On September 13, 2014, the Bears released him and two others as they needed to fill some depth due to multiple injuries.[13]

NFL career statistics edit

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season edit

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2005 IND 16 0 26 18 8 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2006 IND 15 1 40 33 7 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 26 1
2007 IND 16 16 83 71 12 0.0 1 3 17 0 20 10 2 1 0 0
2008 IND 10 10 42 36 6 0.0 1 3 135 1 85 12 1 0 0 0
2009 IND 9 8 50 42 8 0.0 1 1 6 0 6 5 0 0 0 0
2010 IND 11 11 61 43 18 0.0 3 2 56 2 31 8 1 0 0 0
2011 ATL 8 1 24 16 8 0.0 1 2 3 0 2 4 0 0 0 0
2012 CHI 16 2 37 26 11 0.0 0 1 39 0 39 5 0 4 15 0
101 49 363 285 78 0.0 7 12 256 3 85 46 4 6 41 1

Playoffs edit

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2005 IND 1 0 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2006 IND 4 0 8 7 1 0.0 0 1 56 1 56 1 0 0 0 0
2007 IND 1 1 3 2 1 0.0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
2008 IND 1 1 2 2 0 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009 IND 3 3 18 17 1 0.0 0 1 3 0 3 2 2 0 0 0
10 5 33 30 3 0.0 1 3 60 1 56 4 2 0 0 0

Personal life edit

Hayden got engaged to Taraji P. Henson on May 13, 2018,[14] but Henson disclosed the end of the engagement during the October 19, 2020, episode of The Breakfast Club.[15]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Mayer, Larry (November 9, 2012). "Hayden's comfort level, reps both increasing". Chicago Bears. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  2. ^ "2005 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Bears land corners Hayden and Wilhite". Chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  4. ^ "Bears add CB Kelvin Hayden". Espn.go.com. April 5, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  5. ^ Mayer, Larry (January 7, 2013). "Reviewing Bears season by the numbers". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  6. ^ Wright, Michael C. (March 26, 2013). "Kelvin Hayden, Bears reach deal". ESPN. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  7. ^ Wright, Michael C. (August 7, 2013). "Kelvin Hayden to miss season". ESPN. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  8. ^ Mayer, Larry (August 7, 2013). "Kelvin Hayden out for season with torn hamstring". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  9. ^ "Bears place Hayden on IR, sign Hartson". Yahoo! Sports. August 11, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  10. ^ Wright, Michael C.; Dickerson, Jeff (February 28, 2014). "Bears re-sign Kelvin Hayden". ESPN. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  11. ^ Alper, Josh (August 30, 2014). "Bears cut Kelvin Hayden, set initial 53-man roster". NBC Sports. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  12. ^ Wilkening, Mike (September 2, 2014). "Bears place Marquess Wilson on injured reserve/recall". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  13. ^ Dickerson, Jeff (September 13, 2014). "Sources: Hayden, Fales, Fiammetta released". ESPN. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  14. ^ Melas, Chloe (May 14, 2018). "Taraji P. Henson engaged to NFL star Kelvin Hayden". CNN. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  15. ^ France, Lisa Respers (October 19, 2020). "Taraji P. Henson confirms split from fiancé Kelvin Hayden". CNN. Retrieved March 7, 2021.

External links edit