Blake Annen

Blake Annen
No. 84, 86
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1991-05-28) May 28, 1991 (age 33)
Upper Arlington, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:247 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:Upper Arlington (OH)
College:Cincinnati
Undrafted:2014
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-AAC (2013)
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Blake David Annen (born May 28, 1991) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Cincinnati. He was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills.

Early life

Annen played high school football for the Upper Arlington High School Golden Bears in Upper Arlington, Ohio. He helped the Golden Bears win the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division Championship in 2008. He recorded 30 receptions for 800 yards and 12 touchdowns in his high school career. He was named the top tight end in the state by OhioVarsity.com.[1]

College career

Annen played for the Cincinnati Bearcats from 2009 to 2013.[2] He was redshirted in 2009.[1]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Annen ran his 40-yard dash time at 4.41 seconds at Cincinnati's 2014 Pro Day in addition to posting 25 reps on the bench press, which ultimately made him a priority UDFA.[3]

Philadelphia Eagles

Annen signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on May 10, 2014, after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft. He was released by the Eagles on August 23, 2014.[4]

Chicago Bears

Annen was signed to the Chicago Bears' practice squad on September 18, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on November 8, 2014.[4] He made his NFL debut on November 23, 2014, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[5] Annen was released by the Bears on September 2, 2015.[6]

New Orleans Saints

On September 7, 2015, the New Orleans Saints signed Annen to their practice squad.[7] On September 15, 2015, he was released by the Saints.[8]

Green Bay Packers

On September 30, 2015, the Green Bay Packers signed Annen to their practice squad.[9] On October 16, 2015, he was released by the Packers.[10]

Buffalo Bills

On December 15, 2015, the Buffalo Bills signed Annen to their practice squad.[11] He was waived/injured by the Bills on September 2, 2016, and was placed on injured reserve after clearing waivers.[12]

On June 13, 2017, Annen was waived by the Bills.[13]

Post-playing career

In 2018, Annen was hired as the head football coach at Carmel High School.[14] As assistant coaches, he hired former Bears Johnny Knox and Nathan Vasher; the three had worked together at EFT Football Academy in Highland Park, Illinois. In Annen's first year, the Corsairs improved from their 1–8 record in 2017 to 4–5.[15] Another ex-Bear in Jason McKie became running backs coach in 2019.[16] Annen resigned in October to return to his family in Ohio.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b "BLAKE ANNEN". gobearcats.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  2. ^ Kaye, Mike (May 19, 2014). "Eagles Rookie Profile: Blake Annen". bleedinggreennation.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  3. ^ "Blake Annen". nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Blake Annen". kffl.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  5. ^ "Blake Annen". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  6. ^ "BLAKE ANNEN". foxsports.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Terrell, Katherine (September 7, 2015). "New Orleans Saints add TE Blake Annen, DB Don Jones to practice squad". nola.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  8. ^ Woodbery, Evan (September 15, 2015). "New Orleans Saints release 3 players from practice squad". nola.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  9. ^ Green, Christie (September 30, 2015). "Packers sign Tight-End Blake Annen". cbs58.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  10. ^ "TRANSACTIONS". packers.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  11. ^ Brown, Chris (December 15, 2015). "Bills add TE Annen to practice squad". buffalobills.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  12. ^ Brown, Chris (September 2, 2016). "Vets Felton and Lawson headline Bills cut to 53". BuffaloBills.com.
  13. ^ Brown, Chris (June 13, 2017). "Bills waive TE Annen". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  14. ^ Smith, Cam (March 13, 2018). "Carmel (Ill.) hires former Bears TE Blake Annen as new head football coach". USA Today. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Hammond, Sean (July 22, 2019). "3 ex-Bears coach at Carmel Catholic". Northwest Herald. Retrieved January 5, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ Castle, George (December 20, 2019). "Former Bears fullback Jason McKie is hired as Carmel's coach to 'change the direction of the program'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  17. ^ Castle, George (October 8, 2019). "Former Bears tight end Blake Annen steps down as Carmel's coach, citing personal reasons". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2020.