MVP Profile: Cortez Kennedy, 1992

Defensive Tackle, Seattle Seahawks

Age:  24

3^rd season in pro football & with Seahawks

College: Miami (FL)

Height: 6’3”   Weight: 293

Prelude:

Kennedy was taken by Seattle as the third overall draft choice in 1990, with the hope of improving a chronically-deficient defensive line as the club switched to a 4-3 alignment. A lengthy holdout slowed his progress, but he began to show signs of his potential late in the season, especially in a 10-tackle performance against Miami. With surprising speed and great strength, Kennedy emerged in ’91 and was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time.

1992 Season Summary

Appeared in all 16 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Sacks – 14 [9, tied with Bryan Cox, Bruce Smith & Reggie White]

Most sacks, game – 3 at New England 9/20

Multi-sack games – 3

Interceptions – 0

Fumble recoveries – 1

Forced fumbles – 4

Tackles – 92

Awards & Honors:

NFL Defensive Player of the Year: AP

1^st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, NEA, Sporting News

1^st team All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly

Pro Bowl

Seahawks went 2-14 to finish fifth in the AFC West.

Aftermath:

Kennedy was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection in 1993 and ’94, although he was consistently double- and triple-teamed and had just 10.5 sacks over the two years. While he took some criticism as a result, Kennedy benefited from the team’s improvement. His string of Pro Bowl appearances ended at six when knee and ankle injuries cost him half of the 1997 season, but he came back to regain Pro Bowl recognition in 1998 and ’99. Kennedy retired following the 2000 season and, overall, in a career that was played entirely with the Seahawks, he was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection after three seasons, gained at least All-AFC honors after three others, and was selected to the Pro Bowl a total of eight times. He was credited with 58 sacks and 668 tackles. Kennedy’s #96 was retired by the Seahawks and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2012.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself). Also includes Associated Press NFL Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.