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{{Short description|American football player (born 1965)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Dave Widell
| image = Dave Widell (cropped).jpg
| caption = Widell with the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] in 1995
| position = [[Center (American football)|Center]] / [[Offensive tackle|Tackle]]
| number = 78, 79
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|5|14|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Hartford, Connecticut]], U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 7
| weight_lbs = 310
| high_school = South Catholic (CT)
| college = [[Boston College]]
| draftyear = 1988
| draftround = 4
| draftpick = 94
| pastteams =
* [[Dallas Cowboys]] ({{NFL Year|1988}}–{{NFL Year|1989}})
* [[Denver Broncos]] ({{NFL Year|1990}}–{{NFL Year|1994}})
* [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] ({{NFL Year|1995}}–{{NFL Year|1997}})
* [[Atlanta Falcons]] ({{NFL Year|1998}})
| highlights =
* [[Eastern College Athletic Conference|All-ECAC]] (1987)
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 156
| statlabel2 = Games started
| statvalue2 = 92
| pfr = WideDa20
}}
'''David Harold Widell, Jr.''' (born May 14, 1965) is a former [[American football]] [[guard (American football)|guard]] and [[Offensive tackle|tackle]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for the [[Dallas Cowboys]], [[Denver Broncos]], [[Jacksonville Jaguars]], and [[Atlanta Falcons]]. He played [[college football]] at [[Boston College]].
==Early years==
Widell attended South Catholic High School in Connecticut, where he originally played the trombone in the school band.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Widell Lets His Play Do The Talking |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-09-08-9709080159-story.html |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> In [[American football|football]], he played at [[tight end]] and [[nose tackle]]. He didn't start until his junior season. He received All-state honors at both positions as a senior.
He also was the [[Center (basketball)|center]] for the [[basketball]] team.
==College career==
Widell accepted a football scholarship to play at [[Boston College]]. As a [[Redshirt (college sports)|redshirt]] freshman, he was a backup at [[left tackle]]. He also was named the team's [[long snapper]] on [[special teams]] mid-way through the season.
As a sophomore, he was part of a platoon at the [[Center (gridiron football)|center]] position. In his last 2 seasons, he was named the starter at [[right tackle]].
In 2003, he was inducted into the [[Boston College]] Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame.
==Professional career==
===Dallas Cowboys===
Widell was selected by the [[Dallas Cowboys]] in the fourth round (94th overall) of the [[1988 NFL draft]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1988 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1988/draft.htm |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He started at [[right tackle]] against the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] while second-year player [[Kevin Gogan]] was serving a 30 day suspension, and became just the second rookie in franchise history to start a season opener at [[offensive tackle]] ([[Ralph Neely]] was the first).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cowboys suspend Gogan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3025144/the-paris-news/ |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> Later in the season, injuries to [[Mark Tuinei]] and [[Daryle Smith]], allowed him to start 8 game at [[left tackle]].
In [[1989 NFL season|1989]], he started 2 contests at [[right tackle]] in place of an injured Gogan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Johnson Evaluating Personnel |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19900825&id=CoVSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jDYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3585,4938852 |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> From games 10 to 14, he was a part of a platoon with Gogan at [[right tackle]], with Widell being used mostly on passing situations. He missed the season finale with a sprained right knee injury.
On August 24, [[1990 NFL season|1990]], he was traded to the [[Denver Broncos]] in exchange for a seventh round selection in [[1991 NFL season|1991]] (#173-[[Leon Lett]]) and an eighth round selection in [[1992 NFL season|1992]] (#222-Mike Pawlawski).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Broncos Obtain Widell |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19900825&id=t-obAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u3oEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3902,5661911 |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref>
===Denver Broncos===
In [[1990 NFL season|1990]], he joined his brother [[Doug Widell]] (who was also his teammate at [[Boston College]]) with the [[Denver Broncos]], becoming the first brothers in the [[NFL]]'s modern era to play together on the same [[offensive line]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Genius Eric Green Brings Life To Offense |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19901015&id=TH9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4GENAAAAIBAJ&pg=3889,4679861 |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> He appeared in all 16 games, serving as the [[long snapper]] for punts and started at [[Guard (American and Canadian football)|left guard]] in the final 5 contests.
In [[1991 NFL season|1991]], he started two games at left guard, including the season opener against the [[Cincinnati Bengals]]. He replaced an injured [[Keith Kartz]] as the starting center for the playoff games against the [[Houston Oilers]] and the [[Buffalo Bills]].
In [[1992 NFL season|1992]], he appeared in all 16 games, starting the season opener at [[Center (gridiron football)|center]] against the [[Los Angeles Rams]]. He also was named the team's [[long snapper]].
In [[1993 NFL season|1993]], he started a total of 15 games. He started the first contests at [[Guard (American and Canadian football)|left guard]], the next
five at [[Center (gridiron football)|center]] and five of the last six at [[Guard (American and Canadian football)|left guard]]. He was declared inactive in the fifteenth game against the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]]. He was the team's [[long snapper]] on the punt unit.
In [[1994 NFL season|1994]], he started all 16 games at [[Center (gridiron football)|center]]. Widell only missed one game with the Broncos, while playing at [[Guard (gridiron football)|guard]], [[offensive tackle|tackle]], [[Center (gridiron football)|center]] and [[long snapper]].
===Jacksonville Jaguars===
On March 15, [[1995 NFL season|1995]], he signed as a [[free agent]] with the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]], reuniting with [[Tom Coughlin]], who was his [[offensive coordinator]] as a [[Redshirt (college sports)|redshirt]] freshman in college. He was named the franchise's first starting [[Center (gridiron football)|center]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jaguars sign Widell |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19950316&id=bjUVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yQcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1149,121514 |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref>
In [[1996 NFL season|1996]], he appeared in 15 games with 14 starts at center. He missed 2 offensive snaps with a sprained knee for the first time as a Jaguar, during the second game against the [[Houston Oilers]]. He played the entire fifth game against the [[Carolina Panthers]], despite having a torn meniscus in his right knee. He missed the next game against the [[New Orleans Saints]], while recovering from knee surgery. He did not start in the seventh game against the [[New York Jets]], but still took over at center in the second quarter. He played only in the first offensive series of the divisional playoff game against the [[Denver Broncos]], after suffering a strained left calf, but still remained in the game as the [[long snapper]] on the [[special teams]] units.
In [[1997 NFL season|1997]], he started at center for the first 8 games of the season, before being passed on the depth chart by [[Michael Cheever]]. He returned to the starting lineup in the thirteenth game to replace an injured Cheever.
===Atlanta Falcons===
On May 11, [[1998 NFL season|1998]], Widell signed as a [[free agent]] with the [[Atlanta Falcons]], reuniting with [[Dan Reeves]] who was his head coach with the [[Denver Broncos]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Falcons could have done more |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=392&dat=19980722&id=xmZOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Tz8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6203,3058468 |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> He was declared inactive in 14 games and played in only one contest. He was also a part of the Atlanta Falcons' [[Super Bowl XXXIII]] losing team. He was released on February 17, [[1999 NFL season|1999]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Birds let Bennett gone |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=348&dat=19990218&id=T2owAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MTUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6873,4949455 |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
*[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-11-18-9004070801-story.html Denver New City Of Brotherly Love]
*[https://bceagles.com/hof.aspx?hof=245&path=&kiosk= Dave Widell Boston College bio]
{{Cowboys1988DraftPicks}}
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[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Hartford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:American football offensive linemen]]
[[Category:Boston College Eagles football players]]
Line 32 ⟶ 96:
[[Category:Jacksonville Jaguars players]]
[[Category:Atlanta Falcons players]]
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