 Clemens with theSan Diego Chargers in 2016 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 6, 11, 1, 10 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1983-06-07)June 7, 1983 (age 42) Burns, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Burns | ||||||||||||||
| College | Oregon (2001–2005) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2006: 2nd round, 49th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Kellen Vincent Clemens[1] (born June 7, 1983) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback for 11 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theOregon Ducks and was selected by theNew York Jets in the second round of the2006 NFL draft. He was also been a member of theWashington Redskins,Houston Texans,St. Louis Rams, andSan Diego /Los Angeles Chargers.
Born and raised inBurns ineastern Oregon, Clemens playedhigh school football for theBurns Hilanders and led them to the Oregon state 3A championship game in 1999.[2][3] In his high school career, he threw for a state-record 8,646 yards (610-of-1,112) and 102 touchdowns.[4] He also receivedUSA Today All-American honors andOregon Gatorade Player of the Year while in high school, where he completed 218 of 395 passes for 3,464 yards (3,167 m) and 37 touchdowns with 325 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior season. He was coached by Terry Graham using therun and shoot offense.[5]
Clemens playedcollege football at theUniversity of Oregon inEugene.[6] He played for head coachMike Bellotti while at Oregon.[7] He assumed the role of starting quarterback in all 13 games in 2003 and responded by throwing for more touchdown passes and yards than anysophomore in school history, surpassingDan Fouts—who had 16 touchdowns and 2,390 yards, in 1970.[8] Clemens posted three rushing touchdowns, three passing touchdowns and a career-best 437 passing yards in a road victory overWashington State as a junior.[9] As a senior in2005, he broke his ankle while playing againstArizona.[10] Despite missing remaining three games of the season, Clemens finished 2005 with 2,406 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a 152.87 passer efficiency rating.[11] He finished his Oregon career with 7,555 passing yards, which ranked third in school history at the time before being passed up byMarcus Mariota in the 2014 season.[12][13]
| Season | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||||
| Oregon Ducks | |||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Oregon | 23 | 40 | 57.5 | 201 | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 111.2 | 8 | 9 | 1.1 | 0 | ||
| 2003 | Oregon | 182 | 304 | 59.9 | 2,400 | 7.9 | 18 | 9 | 139.8 | 78 | 108 | 1.4 | 2 | ||
| 2004 | Oregon | 223 | 372 | 59.9 | 2,548 | 6.8 | 22 | 10 | 131.6 | 118 | 190 | 1.6 | 4 | ||
| 2005 | Oregon | 185 | 289 | 64.0 | 2,406 | 8.3 | 19 | 4 | 152.9 | 69 | 228 | 3.3 | 0 | ||
| Career | 613 | 1,005 | 61.0 | 7,555 | 7.5 | 61 | 24 | 139.4 | 273 | 535 | 2.0 | 6 | |||
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+5⁄8 in (1.87 m) | 224 lb (102 kg) | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | |||||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[14][15] | ||||||||||||
Clemens was selected by theNew York Jets in the second round of the2006 NFL draft, the 49th overall pick, to serve as the secondary quarterback toChad Pennington.[16] A healthy Pennington resulted in little playing time for Clemens in 2006. He made his NFL debut in relief appearance against theJacksonville Jaguars, recording his first career pass attempt and rushing once for two yards in the 41–0 loss.[17] He entered in a Week 14 31–13 loss to theBuffalo Bills, rushed once for eight yards but did not attempt a pass.[18] He recorded only two attempts and 0 completions in his rookie season.[19]
Due to an injury to Pennington in the Jets's2007 season opener against theNew England Patriots, Clemens recorded his first completed pass in the NFL with a final record for the day of five complete passes on ten attempts in the 38–14 loss.[20] Clemens made his first career start in Week 2 of the 2007 season. His effectiveness was minimized by the Ravens's defense for the first three quarters, with the Jets trailing 20–3 at one point. However, in the fourth quarter, Clemens led the Jets on a scoring drive that cut Baltimore's lead to 20–13. On the last drive, he attempted what would have been a game-tying touchdown pass to Jets wide receiverJustin McCareins, but the pass was dropped by McCareins and intercepted by the Ravens'Ray Lewis.[21]
His next appearance came in week 8 against theBuffalo Bills. A struggling Pennington was pulled by head coachEric Mangini in the middle of the fourth quarter and replaced by Clemens. Clemens led two drives against the Buffalo defense. Down 13–3 and pressed for time, Clemens attempted to quickly move the Jets offense down the field but was intercepted twice.[22] The following day, on October 29, 2007, Clemens was named the starting quarterback for the next game against theWashington Redskins. In the 23–20 loss, he had 226 passing yards and a passing touchdown.[23] He finished the 2007 season with 1,529 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, and ten interceptions in 11 games.[24]
In2008, Clemens was only on the field in two games to attempt five passes as the backup toBrett Favre.[25] WhenMike Nugent, the Jets's kicker, injured his thigh in the September 7 game against theMiami Dolphins, Clemens filled in as the team's placekicker, but was not called upon to kick.
On August 26, 2009, Jet's head coachRex Ryan announced thatMark Sanchez would be the starting quarterback for the2009 season, a position left vacant afterBrett Favre was released from the Jets in February.[26] On December 3, Clemens was forced to come in against theBuffalo Bills after Mark Sanchez sprained his PCL.[27] Clemens started the Jets's next game against the 1–11Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite an unexceptional personal performance by Clemens, the Jets were still able to pick up an important 26–3 victory.[28]
Clemens threw for 125 yards with no touchdowns in 2009 and played mostly whenMark Sanchez was injured.[29] He was re-signed to a one-year contract for the2010 season on April 13,[30] but the only action he saw was in the Week 17 game against theBuffalo Bills.[31][32]
On July 27, 2011, Clemens signed a one-year contract with theWashington Redskins where he competed for a backup role during the 2011 preseason.[33] He was released by the team on September 3.[34]
Clemens was signed by theHouston Texans on November 23, 2011, after starting quarterbackMatt Schaub was placed on injured reserve.[35] Two weeks later, he was waived in order for the Texans to signJeff Garcia.[36]
TheSt. Louis Rams claimed Clemens off of waivers from Houston on December 7. 2011.[37]
After an ankle sprain sidelined starting quarterbackSam Bradford and with backupA. J. Feeley out with a thumb injury, Clemens started on December 18 against theCincinnati Bengals. With only 11 days to get familiar with the team and the offense, Clemens passed for 229 yards completing 25-of-36 passes. In that game, he completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverDanario Alexander, his first NFL touchdown pass since Week 17 of the 2007 season with the Jets, but the Bengals won by a score of 20–13.[38] Clemens started the final two games for the Rams, both losses to theSteelers and rival49ers.[39][40] He finished the2011 season with two touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown, and was re-signed by the Rams.[41]
In the 2012 season, Clemens only saw action in two games against the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals. He completed one pass for 39 yards and had two rushes for five yards.[42]
After Bradford went down with a season-ending injury in Week 7 in2013, Clemens started the final nine games, going 4–5 as the Rams' starter and finished with 1,673 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions.[43][44]
Clemens signed a two-year contract with theSan Diego Chargers on March 13, 2014.[45] In the 2014 season, he only appeared in two games and completed one pass for 10 yards.[46] Clemens threw his first touchdown as a Charger on September 27, 2015, a 19-yard pass toKeenan Allen against theMinnesota Vikings.[47][48]
In the 2016 season, Clemens appeared in one game, a 38–14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, in relief ofPhilip Rivers at quarterback.[49] In addition, he saw some playing time on special teams throughout the season.[50]
Clemens was re-signed to a one-year contract on March 9, 2017.[51] On September 2, 2017, he was released by the Chargers, but was re-signed two days later.[52][53] In the 2017 season, he remained in a relief role and completed six passes for 75 yards and an interception.[54]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2006 | NYJ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 |
| 2007 | NYJ | 10 | 8 | 130 | 250 | 52.0 | 1,529 | 6.1 | 5 | 10 | 60.9 | 27 | 111 | 4.1 | 1 |
| 2008 | NYJ | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 60.0 | 26 | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 34.2 | 3 | −3 | −1.0 | 0 |
| 2009 | NYJ | 10 | 1 | 13 | 26 | 50.0 | 125 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 63.8 | 12 | 1 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 2010 | NYJ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 56.2 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 1 |
| 2011 | STL | 3 | 3 | 48 | 91 | 52.7 | 546 | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 73.8 | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 1 |
| 2012 | STL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 39 | 13.0 | 0 | 1 | 42.4 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2013 | STL | 10 | 9 | 142 | 242 | 58.7 | 1,673 | 6.9 | 8 | 7 | 78.8 | 23 | 64 | 2.8 | 0 |
| 2014 | SD | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 | 43.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2015 | SD | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 83.3 | 63 | 10.5 | 1 | 0 | 150.0 | 1 | −1 | −1.0 | 0 |
| 2016 | SD | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 2 | −1 | −0.5 | 0 |
| 2017 | LAC | 8 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 75.0 | 36 | 4.5 | 0 | 1 | 43.8 | 5 | −5 | −1.0 | 0 |
| Career | 64 | 21 | 350 | 638 | 54.9 | 4,053 | 6.4 | 16 | 21 | 68.9 | 85 | 227 | 2.7 | 3 | |
Clemens grew up herding cattle in eastern Oregon on his family's 3,500-acre (14 km2) ranch in Burns, where they own over 100 head ofcattle. As a young boy, Kellen enjoyed horseback riding in his spare time.[55]
He is an active and practicingRoman Catholic, and is married with four children with a strong religious devotion to theHoly Family ofNazareth. In a February 2012 interview with theNational Catholic Register, he noted that he has a special devotion toOur Lady of Mount Carmel, and that he wears theBrown Scapular in connection to this devotion.
Clemens voted forMitt Romney in the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election,[56] claiming: “You have to vote for the candidate who is mostpro-life.”
He has four younger sisters, and majored inBusiness Administration at the University of Oregon. Earning International League All Star recognition in 1998[3] Clemens is an active member of Catholic Athletes for Christ.[57] He and his wife Nicole currently reside inCoeur d’Alene, Idaho where he is Board Chair and Athletic Director atCoeur du Christ Academy.[58] Clemens also expressed a feeling of deep honour whenPope Benedict XVI blessed and kissed their four-week-old baby girl at the final procession of thePapal Mass on April 17, 2008, atNationals Park inWashington D.C..[59]
