| No. 8, 9 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1995-09-03)September 3, 1995 (age 29) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Chaminade College Preparatory (Los Angeles, California) |
| College: | Miami (FL) |
| NFL draft: | 2017: 6th round, 215th pick |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
Bradley Mathias Kaaya Jr. (born September 3, 1995) is a formerAmerican footballquarterback. He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Miami from 2014 to 2016, and was drafted by theDetroit Lions in sixth round of the2017 NFL draft. Kaaya is theall time passing yards leader at Miami.
Kaaya attendedChaminade College Preparatory School inWest Hills, Los Angeles,California, where he playedhigh school football for the Eagles. As a senior, he threw for a school-record 3,855 yards and 27touchdowns. During his high school career, he threw for 5,730 yards and 40 touchdowns while leading his school to their first ever CIF and CA State Championship (2013). He was ranked by theRivals.com recruiting network as the eighth best pro-stylequarterback recruit in his class and was also a member of Nike'sElite 11, showcasing the top 11 quarterback recruits in the nation.[1]
Kaaya was named the Hurricanes starting quarterback as a true freshman overJake Heaps by head coachAl Golden on August 24, 2014.[2][3] Kaaya led the Hurricanes to a 6–7 overall record and abowl appearance, losing toSouth Carolina in the2014 Independence Bowl. Kaaya was namedAtlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the year following a 2014 regular season in which he led the league in pass efficiency and touchdown passes.[4] In his second year starting, the 2015 Hurricanes improved to 8–5, with a loss toWashington State in theSun Bowl. Kaaya had the 2016 Hurricanes off to their best start of his career, going 4–1 and reaching as high as #10 in theAP Poll. Miami finished the 2016 season with a 9–4 record and a win overWest Virginia in the2016 Russell Athletic Bowl. Kaaya was named bowl MVP and became Miami's all-time leader in nearly every passing statistic, including yards.
On January 2, 2017, Kaaya announced that he would be entering the2017 NFL draft rather than returning to Miami for his final season of eligibility.[5]
| Season | Team | GP | Passing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | |||
| 2014 | Miami | 13 | 221 | 378 | 58.5 | 3,198 | 26 | 12 |
| 2015 | Miami | 12 | 238 | 389 | 61.2 | 3,238 | 16 | 5 |
| 2016 | Miami | 13 | 261 | 421 | 62.0 | 3,532 | 27 | 7 |
| Total | 38 | 696 | 1,188 | 60.6 | 9,968 | 69 | 24 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wonderlic | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft3+7⁄8 in (1.93 m) | 214 lb (97 kg) | 32 in (0.81 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 34 | ||||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[6] | ||||||||||||
TheDetroit Lions selected Kaaya in the sixth round (215th overall) of the2017 NFL draft.[7] He was the ninth quarterback selected in the draft.[8] On May 12, 2017, the Lions signed Kaaya to a four-year, $2.52 million contract with a signing bonus of $123,352.[9] He was waived by the Lions on September 2.[10]
On September 3, 2017, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by theCarolina Panthers.[11] He was waived by the Panthers on October 17.[12]
On October 18, 2017, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by the Lions.[13] On October 23, Kaaya was waived by the Lions and re-signed to thepractice squad.[14]
On December 27, 2017, Kaaya was signed by theIndianapolis Colts off the Lions' practice squad.[15]
On August 24, 2018, Kaaya waswaived/injured by the Colts and placed oninjured reserve.[16] He was waived from injured reserve on February 8, 2019.[17]
On February 11, 2019, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by theCincinnati Bengals.[18] However, the Bengals declined to assign him arestricted free agent tender for 2019, making Kaaya an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year in March.[19]
Kaaya's mother,Angela Means, is avegan cook and former actress, who is best known for her role as Felisha in the 1995 classic filmFriday as well as Veda inHouse Party 3 and Aunt Vanessa in the TV seriesCousin Skeeter.[20][21] His father Brad Kaaya Sr. coached him in Pop Warner football and is a former screenwriter who wrote for the filmO and the TV seriesCousin Skeeter,Damon, andMADtv.[22] His surname originates fromTanzania.[23]
