Carl Edward Kidd is a former American 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...

 linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 and defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 who played in both 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...

 and the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

.

High school and college years

Kidd played high school football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 at Pine Bluff

Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...

 Dollarway High School, and then played at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College

Located in the small former mining town of Miami, Oklahoma, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, commonly referred to as NEO, is a two-year community college with programs in Agriculture, Livestock Judging, Nursing, Physical Therapist Assistant, Theatre, Social Science, and a variety of other...

. Kidd later played 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...

 and safety at the University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

, lettering in 1993 and 1994. As a senior Kidd led the team in punt returns and won the Steve Little

Steve Little (American football)

Steven Richard Little was an American football kicker and punter in the National Football League for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the third-highest drafted kicker in NFL history, with first highest pick being Charlie Gogolak of Princeton University and second being Russell Erxleben...

 Award for the top Razorback special teams player. Following his senior season, Kidd was selected to play in the Blue-Gray Classic all-star game in Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

.

Oakland Raiders

Kidd was signed as a free agent

Free 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....

 by the Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 after not being taken in the 1995 NFL Draft

1995 NFL Draft

The 1995 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 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City...

. He played a combined 29 games for the Oakland Raiders in 1995

1995 Oakland Raiders season

The 1995 Oakland Raiders season began with the team trying to improve on their 9–7 record from 1994. The 1995 season was the team's return to Oakland after being in Los Angeles for thirteen years.-Schedule:-Standings:...

 and 1996

1996 Oakland Raiders season

The 1996 Oakland Raiders season was their 37th in the league. They were unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 8–8, winning only seven games. This was the team's third consecutive season in which they failed to qualify for the playoffs....

. Kidd played in all sixteen games for the Raiders in 1996, grabbing the only the interception

Interception (football)

An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...

 in his career and returning 29 kickoffs for 622 yards. Kidd then spent 3 years in various NFL camps before being signed as a free agent with the BC Lions

BC Lions

The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...

 in 2000.

CFL Career

In 2002 CFL season

2002 CFL season

The 2002 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 49th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 45th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 2002:...

, Kidd was one of six Lions to be selected to the CFL Western All-Star team. He returned 2 interceptions for touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

s and was named BC's top defensive player and Player of the Week for week #14.

In 2003 CFL season

2003 CFL season

The 2003 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 50th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 46th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 2003:...

, he was named Defensive Player of the Week for week 8, was 6th in the CFL with 87 total tackle (football move)

Tackle (football move)

Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....

s and returned 2 interceptions for touchdowns.

In 2004 CFL season

2004 CFL season

The 2004 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 51st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 47th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 2004:...

, he recorded his 5th career touchdown, which was a 35 yard interception return versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...

. Kidd was also the Lions leader with 54 defensive tackles.

In 2005 CFL season

2005 CFL season

The 2005 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 52nd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 48th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 2005:...

, he missed the first 2 games due to injury but still led the Lions in special teams tackles (23) and had 2 sacks.

In 2006 CFL season

2006 CFL season

-2006 Rogers CFL Awards:* CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Geroy Simon , BC Lions* CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Brent Johnson , BC Lions* CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award – Brent Johnson , BC Lions...

, he had 66 total tackles and 4 sacks with the Lions to help them win the 2006 Grey Cup. In what would be his final game, Kidd teamed with Javier Glatt

Javier Glatt

Javier Glatt is a retired professional Canadian football linebacker who played for eight seasons in the Canadian Football League...

to cause a critical fumble that sealed the Grey Cup title for the Lions.

On March 27, 2007, Kidd announced his retirement from professional football at age 33.