Andre Gurode
Encyclopedia
Dallas Cowboys
Gurode was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
by the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...
as a center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
.
Gurode was selected to help shore up the center position and started fast by becoming the first rookie in club history to start at center on opening day.
In 2002
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
he also became part of history as the starting center on the Cowboys offensive line that helped Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...
eclipse Walter Payton
Walter Payton
Walter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...
as the NFL's all-time leading rusher, playing against the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
on October 27.
While he started the first six games of the 2002 season
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
at center, Gurode was moved to guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
to help compensate for the number of injuries along the offensive line, compiling another eight starts at right guard.
In 2003
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
, Bill Parcells
Bill Parcells
Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...
was hired as the Cowboys head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
and decided that Gurode's best position was at guard.
Gurode started 15 games at guard in 2003 and 13 games in 2004
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
with mixed results, before getting benched for the final two games.
At the start of the 2005 season
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, Parcells accepted he made a misjudgment by moving Gurode to guard and switched him back to center. The Cowboys also signed Marco Rivera
Marco Rivera
Marco Anthony Rivera is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League. Rivera is of Puerto Rican descent.-Early years:Rivera attended Elmont Memorial High School in Long Island, New York...
to start at right guard.
Gurode became a versatile backup, playing behind Al Johnson at center and Rivera at right guard.
In 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, he rededicated himself to football
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...
and won the starting center job again, over Al Johnson.
On October 1, 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, in the third quarter of a game against the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth
Albert Haynesworth
-Tennessee Titans:Haynesworth was elected to the Pro Bowl for the first time for the 2007 NFL season. During this season following the stomping incident, he ranked second on the team with six sacks in his 11 games played up to the selection, led or tied for the team-high in total tackles three...
stomped on Gurode's head. Haynesworth's cleats caused a laceration requiring thirty stitches. Haynesworth was ejected, and subsequently suspended by the NFL for five games without pay.
Following the 2006 season
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, Gurode was named to his first Pro Bowl
2007 Pro Bowl
The 2007 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl took place on February 10, 2007, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday after the Super Bowl because of a request by broadcaster CBS....
as an injury replacement. Prior to that, Gurode had been considered a "pro-bowl snub" after not originally being selected.
On February 20, 2007, the Cowboys re-signed Gurode to a six-year contract worth US$30 million including a $10 million signing bonus.
Gurode has developed into one of the league's most respected centers since returning to being a full-time starter in 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, and has been selected to the NFL All-Pro Team (2007
2007 All-Pro Team
The 2007 All-Pro Team is composed of the National Football League players that were named to the Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association and Sporting News All-Pro Teams in 2007. Both first and second teams are listed for the Associated Press....
, 2009
2009 All-Pro Team
The 2009 All-Pro Team consists of National Football League players named to the Associated Press , Pro Football Writers Association , and Sporting News All-Pro teams in the 2009 NFL season. The Associated Press and Sporting News named first and second-team selections. The AP team was selected by...
), as well as to five straight 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 (2006
2006 Pro Bowl
The 2006 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played on February 12, 2006 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It marked the 27th consecutive time that the National Football League's all-star game was held in Honolulu...
, 2007
2007 Pro Bowl
The 2007 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl took place on February 10, 2007, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday after the Super Bowl because of a request by broadcaster CBS....
, 2008
2008 Pro Bowl
The 2008 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2008. The game was televised in the United States by Fox and began shortly after 11:40am local time . The NFC won, 42–30, despite a 17-point first half AFC...
, 2009
2009 Pro Bowl
The 2009 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2008 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 8, 2009. This was the last time that a Pro Bowl game was held after the NFL Super Bowl game...
, 2010
2010 Pro Bowl
The 2010 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV...
)
He had off-season left knee surgery and missed the 2011 training camp and three out of four preseason games. With the emergence of second year player Phil Costa
Phil Costa (American football)
Phil Costa is an American football center and guard for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League...
, he was released after the preseason following failed negotiations regarding a restructured contract.
Baltimore Ravens
Gurode reportedly visited 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...
and 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...
http://bleacherbumsports.net/2011/09/02/pats-to-work-out-gurode/ before signing a 1 year, $3 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
on September 4, 2011.