Welcome to This Week in NFL History! Every week, the Research team will spotlight the anniversaries of notable events and birthdays.
Feb. 14
Notable Birthdays: QB Steve McNair, HOF Jim Kelly (62), QB Drew Bledsoe (50), & CLE DE Jadeveon Clowney (29)
Feb. 15
- The NFL teams made a pledge to not sign college seniors until all their games were played including bowls in 1965.
-- The Commissioner was empowered to discipline clubs up to as much as the loss of an entire draft list for a violation of the pledge.
- The Panthers and Jaguars stocked their expansion rosters with a total of 66 players from other NFL teams in a veteran player allocation draft in New York in 1995.
-- Notable picks included QB Doug Pederson (CAR) & future professional wrestler DT Bill Goldberg (CAR)
Notable Birthdays: HOF Gene Hickerson, QB Ken Anderson (73) & HOF Darrell Green (62)
Feb. 16
- The NFL announced revisions in its draft eligibility rules in 1990
-- College juniors became eligible but must renounce their collegiate football eligibility before applying for the NFL Draft.
Notable Birthdays: HOF Jerome Bettis (50), RB Ahman Green (45) & DEN CB Kyle Fuller (30)
Feb. 17
Notable Birthdays: HOF Jim Brown (86), WR Stanley Morgan (67), LAR RB Sony Michel (27) & TB LB Devin White (24)
Feb. 18
- HOF Tony Boselli, allocated by the Jacksonville Jaguars, was the first selection of the Houston Texans in the 2002 NFL Expansion Draft.
-- Boselli never played a game for the Texans.
-- Boselli: 5-time Pro Bowler, 3-time First-Team All-Pro.
Notable Birthdays: HOF Pat Bowlen, HOF Len Ford & HOF Bob St. Clair
Feb. 19
- NFL added a sixth official (line judge) to the officiating crew in 1965.
-- Added to watch the opposite side of the line of scrimmage as passing game become prevalent (officials could have better view of if QB was behind line of scrimmage when throwing a pass).
-- The line judge assumed many of the back judge pre-snap duties related to illegal motion, eligible receivers and offside.
Notable Birthdays: HOF Paul Krause (80) & DE Dwight Freeney (42)
Feb. 20
- The expansion Carolina Panthers signed their first 2 veteran free agents (K John Kasay & DE Mike Fox) in 1995.
-- Kasay: Played 15 seasons for CAR from 1995-2010 & is the Panthers all-time leader in points (1,482), extra points made (429) & field goals made (351).
-- Fox: Played 4 seasons for CAR from 1995-1998 & recorded 4.5 sacks in his first season
