Chris Akins
Encyclopedia
Christopher Drew Akins (born November 29, 1976 in Little Rock, Arkansas
) is a former American football
safety and special teams player. He played in the National Football League
for the Dallas Cowboys
, Green Bay Packers
, Cleveland Browns
, New England Patriots
, and the Miami Dolphins
.
in Little Rock, and was a letterman in football
and track. In football, he was an All-Conference selection, an All-State selection, and an All-America selection. In track, he was a two-time All-State selection and set school records on the 100 meter dash (10.33 seconds) and the 200 meter dash.
in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft
by the Green Bay Packers
out of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
, but was cut at the end of training camp and signed with the Dallas Cowboys
. The next year, 2000, Akins was back with Green Bay halfway into the season, after being cut by Dallas.
During the 2001 season, Akins angered Packers head coach Mike Sherman
with mental lapses on the field and his attitude off of it, and was cut halfway into the season. The Cleveland Browns
then signed Akins, and he stayed with them and proved to be a useful player on special teams until he signed with the New England Patriots
for the 2003 season. While with the Patriots, Akins continued his career as an able and sometimes very good special teams player, and he contributed to their win in Super Bowl XXXVIII
. Again an unrestricted free agent after that season, Akins subsequently signed with the Miami Dolphins
, and spent the season on the team's injured reserve
with a knee
injury.
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
) 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...
safety and special teams player. He played in 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...
for 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...
, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, 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...
, and the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
High school years
Akins attended Hall High SchoolHall High School (Arkansas)
Hall High School, located in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a comprehensive four-year public high school in the Little Rock School District currently enrolling 1,389 students in grades nine through twelve.-History:...
in Little Rock, and was a letterman in 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....
and track. In football, he was an All-Conference selection, an All-State selection, and an All-America selection. In track, he was a two-time All-State selection and set school records on the 100 meter dash (10.33 seconds) and the 200 meter dash.
Professional career
Akins was originally 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...
in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft
1999 NFL Draft
The 1999 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 17-18, 1999...
by the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
out of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
, but was cut at the end of training camp and signed with 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...
. The next year, 2000, Akins was back with Green Bay halfway into the season, after being cut by Dallas.
During the 2001 season, Akins angered Packers head coach Mike Sherman
Mike Sherman
Michael Francis "Mike" Sherman is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies football team. Prior to coaching the Aggies, he served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from the 2000–05 seasons. Sherman led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons from 2000–04 and three divisional titles...
with mental lapses on the field and his attitude off of it, and was cut halfway into the season. The Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
then signed Akins, and he stayed with them and proved to be a useful player on special teams until he signed with the 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...
for the 2003 season. While with the Patriots, Akins continued his career as an able and sometimes very good special teams player, and he contributed to their win in Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
. Again an unrestricted free agent after that season, Akins subsequently signed with the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and spent the season on the team's injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
with a knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
injury.