No. 72, 70 | |||||
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Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Ypsilanti, Michigan, U.S. | April 26, 1954||||
Died: | July 26, 2017 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | (aged 63)||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
Weight: | 254 lb (115 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Belleville (MI) | ||||
College: | Minnesota | ||||
NFL draft: | 1976 / round: 3 / pick: 63 | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Keith Michael Simons (April 26, 1954 – July 26, 2017) was an American football player. He was a defensive tackle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL).[1] He played college football at the University of Minnesota.[1] He was named to the Associated Press All-Big Ten team in 1975.[2]
Simons was selected by the Chiefs with the 63rd pick in the 3rd round of the 1976 NFL draft.[1] He made his presence felt in his very first preseason game, when he blocked a field goal attempt in overtime and teammate Emmitt Thomas recovered the ball and returned it for a game winning touchdown.[3] He was placed on the injured reserve list in October after tearing knee ligaments in a game against the Miami Dolphins.[4] Simons played in 6 games for the Chiefs during the regular season in 1976, starting all 6.[1] In 1977, he played in all 16 games for the Chiefs, again starting 6.[1] The Chiefs traded him to the New Orleans Saints before the 1978 season but the Saints cut him before the season started.[5][6] He was signed by the Cardinals in September 1978 and played two seasons for the Cardinals as a backup nose tackle, getting into 29 games.[7][1] The Cardinals released him before the 1980 season.[8] Diagnosed with bladder and lung cancer earlier in the year,[9] he died on July 26, 2017, at the age of 63.[10]