Brad Kaaya

Bradley Mathias Kaaya Jr. (born September 3, 1995) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Miami from 2014 to 2016, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Kaaya is the all time passing yards leader at Miami.

Brad Kaaya
No. 8, 9
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1995-09-03) September 3, 1995
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:Chaminade College Preparatory
(Los Angeles, California)
College:Miami (FL)
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 6 / Pick: 215
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Kaaya attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills, Los Angeles, California, where he played high school football for the Eagles. As a senior, he threw for a school-record 3,855 yards and 27 touchdowns. During his high school career, he threw for 5,730 yards and 40 touchdowns while leading his school to their first ever CIF and CA State Championship (2013). He was ranked by the Rivals.com recruiting network as the eighth best pro-style quarterback recruit in his class and was also a member of Nike's Elite 11, showcasing the top 11 QB recruits in the nation.[1]

College career

Kaaya was named the Hurricanes starting quarterback as a true freshman over Jake Heaps by head coach Al Golden on August 24, 2014.[2][3] Kaaya led the Hurricanes to a 6–7 overall record and a bowl appearance, losing to South Carolina in the 2014 Independence Bowl. In his second year starting, the 2015 Hurricanes improved to 8–5, with a loss to Washington State in the Sun Bowl. Kaaya had the 2016 Hurricanes off to their best start of his career, going 4–1 and reaching as high as #10 in the AP Poll. Miami finished the 2016 season with a 9–4 record and a win over West Virginia in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl. Kaaya was named bowl MVP and became Miami's all time QB leader in nearly every passing statistic including yards.

On January 2, 2017, Kaaya announced that he would be entering the 2017 NFL Draft rather than returning to Miami for his final season of eligibility.[4]

College statistics
Passing
YearTeamGPCmpAttPctYardsTDsInt
2014Miami1322137858.53,1982612
2015Miami1223838961.23,238165
2016Miami1326142162.03,532277
College totals386961,18860.69,9686924

Kaaya was named ACC Rookie of the year following a 2014 regular season in which he led the league in pass efficiency and touchdown passes.[5]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand spanWonderlic
6 ft 3+7⁄8 in
(1.93 m)		 214 lb
(97 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		34
All values from NFL Combine[6]

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions selected Kaaya in the sixth round (215th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[7] He was the ninth quarterback selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.[8] On May 12, 2017, the Lions signed Kaaya to a four-year, $2.52 million contract with a signing bonus of $123,352.[9] He was waived by the Lions on September 2, 2017.[10]

Carolina Panthers

On September 3, 2017, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers.[11] He was waived by the Panthers on October 17, 2017.[12]

Detroit Lions (second stint)

On October 18, 2017, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by the Lions.[13] On October 23, 2017, Kaaya was waived by the Lions and re-signed to the practice squad.[14]

Indianapolis Colts

On December 27, 2017, Kaaya was signed by the Indianapolis Colts off the Lions' practice squad.[15]

On August 24, 2018, Kaaya was waived/injured by the Colts and placed on injured reserve.[16] He was waived from injured reserve on February 8, 2019.[17]

Cincinnati Bengals

On February 11, 2019, Kaaya was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals.[18] However, the Bengals declined to assign him a restricted free agent tender for 2019, making Kaaya an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year in March.[19]

Personal life

Kaaya's mother, Angela Means, is a vegan cook and former actress, who is best known for her role as Felisha in the 1995 classic film Friday as well as Veda in House Party 3 and Aunt Vanessa in the TV series Cousin Skeeter.[20][21] His father Brad Kaaya Sr. coached him in Pop Warner football and is a former screenwriter who wrote for the film O and the TV series Cousin Skeeter, Damon, and MADtv.[22] His surname originates from Tanzania.[23]

References
  1. "Brad Kaaya, 2014 Pro Style Quarterback, Miami (FL)". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  2. "Brad Kaaya wins Miami Hurricanes quarterback job". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 24, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  3. Degnan, Susan Miller (August 24, 2014). "Brad Kaaya new starting QB for Miami Hurricanes – Eye on the U". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  4. Degnan, Susan Miller (January 3, 2017). "Brad Kaaya entering NFL draft". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  5. ACC. "ACC". ACC – Official Athletics Site.
  6. "Brad Kaaya Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  7. Twentyman, Tim (April 29, 2017). "Detroit Lions draft defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter". Detroit Lions. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  8. "2017 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  9. "Spotrac.com: Brad Kaaya contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  10. "Lions establish 53-man roster". DetroitLions.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017.
  11. Henson, Max (September 3, 2017). "Panthers claim Brad Kaaya and Demetrious Cox". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  12. Henson, Max (October 17, 2017). "Panthers sign LB Andrew Gachkar, waive QB Brad Kaaya". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  13. "Lions sign free agents DE Jacquies Smith and T Bryce Harris". DetroitLions.com. October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  14. "Lions activate DT Khyri Thornton from exempt-commissioner permission". DetroitLions.com. October 23, 2017. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  15. "Roster Moves: Colts Sign QB Brad Kaaya; Place CB Rashaan Melvin On IR". Colts.com. December 27, 2017. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  16. "Roster Moves: Colts Sign CB Juante Baldwin; Waive-Injured QB Brad Kaaya". Colts.com. August 24, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  17. Williams, Charean (February 8, 2019). "Colts cut Brad Kaaya". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  18. Sheeran, John (February 11, 2019). "Bengals claim Brad Kaaya off waivers from Colts". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  19. "Brad Kaaya: Non-tendered by Cincy". CBSSports.com. March 13, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  20. Painter, Jill (July 21, 2014). "Bye, Felicia! Brad Kaaya, Miami QB, enjoys mom's phrase trending again 20 years later". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  21. Douglas, Stephen (February 5, 2014). "Miami Recruit Brad Kaaya's Mother Was an Actress Who Played "Felisha" in Friday". The Big Lead. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  22. Solomon, Jon (August 12, 2016). "Raising Kaaya: Mom's fame, dad's obsessiveness shape Miami's star QB". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  23. Porter, Matt (August 15, 2014). "Hurricanes QB Brad Kaaya impresses with preparedness, California cool". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
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