# Dave Widell

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**David Harold Widell, Jr.** (born May 14, 1965) is an American former professional [football](/source/American_football) player who was a [guard](/source/Guard_(American_football)) and [tackle](/source/Offensive_tackle) in the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League) (NFL) for the [Dallas Cowboys](/source/Dallas_Cowboys), [Denver Broncos](/source/Denver_Broncos), [Jacksonville Jaguars](/source/Jacksonville_Jaguars), and [Atlanta Falcons](/source/Atlanta_Falcons). He played [college football](/source/College_football) for the [Boston College Eagles](/source/Boston_College_Eagles_football).

## Early life

Widell attended South Catholic High School in Connecticut, where he originally played the trombone in the school band.[1] In [football](/source/American_football), he played at [tight end](/source/Tight_end) and [nose tackle](/source/Nose_tackle). He didn't start until his junior season. He received All-state honors at both positions as a senior.

He also was the [center](/source/Center_(basketball)) for the [basketball](/source/Basketball) team.

## College career

Widell accepted a football scholarship to play at [Boston College](/source/Boston_College). As a [redshirt](/source/Redshirt_(college_sports)) freshman, he was a backup at [left tackle](/source/Left_tackle). He also was named the [Eagles](/source/Boston_College_Eagles_football)' [long snapper](/source/Long_snapper) on [special teams](/source/Special_teams) mid-way through the season.

As a sophomore, he was part of a platoon at the [center](/source/Center_(gridiron_football)) position. In his last 2 seasons, he was named the starter at [right tackle](/source/Right_tackle).

In 2003, he was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame.

## Professional career

### Dallas Cowboys

Widell was selected by the [Dallas Cowboys](/source/Dallas_Cowboys) in the fourth round (94th overall) of the [1988 NFL draft](/source/1988_NFL_draft).[2] He started at [right tackle](/source/Right_tackle) against the [Pittsburgh Steelers](/source/Pittsburgh_Steelers) while second-year player [Kevin Gogan](/source/Kevin_Gogan) was serving a 30 day suspension, and became just the second rookie in franchise history to start a season opener at [offensive tackle](/source/Offensive_tackle) ([Ralph Neely](/source/Ralph_Neely) was the first).[3] Later in the season, injuries to [Mark Tuinei](/source/Mark_Tuinei) and [Daryle Smith](/source/Daryle_Smith), allowed him to start 8 game at [left tackle](/source/Left_tackle).

In [1989](/source/1989_NFL_season), he started 2 contests at [right tackle](/source/Right_tackle) in place of an injured Gogan.[4] From games 10 to 14, he was a part of a platoon with Gogan at [right tackle](/source/Right_tackle), with Widell being used mostly on passing situations. He missed the season finale with a sprained right knee injury.

On August 24, [1990](/source/1990_NFL_season), he was traded to the [Denver Broncos](/source/Denver_Broncos) in exchange for a seventh round selection in [1991](/source/1991_NFL_season) (#173-[Leon Lett](/source/Leon_Lett)) and an eighth round selection in [1992](/source/1992_NFL_season) (#222-Mike Pawlawski).[5]

### Denver Broncos

In [1990](/source/1990_NFL_season), he joined his brother [Doug Widell](/source/Doug_Widell) (who was also his teammate at [Boston College](/source/Boston_College)) with the [Denver Broncos](/source/Denver_Broncos), becoming the first brothers in the [NFL](/source/NFL)'s modern era to play together on the same [offensive line](/source/Offensive_line).[6] He appeared in all 16 games, serving as the [long snapper](/source/Long_snapper) for punts and started at [left guard](/source/Guard_(American_and_Canadian_football)) in the final 5 contests.

In [1991](/source/1991_NFL_season), he started two games at left guard, including the season opener against the [Cincinnati Bengals](/source/Cincinnati_Bengals). He replaced an injured [Keith Kartz](/source/Keith_Kartz) as the starting center for the playoff games against the [Houston Oilers](/source/Houston_Oilers) and the [Buffalo Bills](/source/Buffalo_Bills).

In [1992](/source/1992_NFL_season), he appeared in all 16 games, starting the season opener at [center](/source/Center_(gridiron_football)) against the [Los Angeles Rams](/source/Los_Angeles_Rams). He also was named the team's [long snapper](/source/Long_snapper).

In [1993](/source/1993_NFL_season), he started a total of 15 games. He started the first contests at [left guard](/source/Guard_(American_and_Canadian_football)), the next five at [center](/source/Center_(gridiron_football)) and five of the last six at [left guard](/source/Guard_(American_and_Canadian_football)). He was declared inactive in the fifteenth game against the [Tampa Bay Buccaneers](/source/Tampa_Bay_Buccaneers). He was the team's [long snapper](/source/Long_snapper) on the punt unit.

In [1994](/source/1994_NFL_season), he started all 16 games at [center](/source/Center_(gridiron_football)). Widell only missed one game with the Broncos, while playing at [guard](/source/Guard_(gridiron_football)), [tackle](/source/Offensive_tackle), [center](/source/Center_(gridiron_football)) and [long snapper](/source/Long_snapper).

### Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 15, [1995](/source/1995_NFL_season), he signed as a [free agent](/source/Free_agent) with the [Jacksonville Jaguars](/source/Jacksonville_Jaguars), reuniting with [Tom Coughlin](/source/Tom_Coughlin), who was his [offensive coordinator](/source/Offensive_coordinator) as a [redshirt](/source/Redshirt_(college_sports)) freshman in college. He was named the franchise's first starting [center](/source/Center_(gridiron_football)).[7]

In [1996](/source/1996_NFL_season), he appeared in 15 games with 14 starts at center. He missed 2 offensive snaps with a sprained knee for the first time as a Jaguar, during the second game against the [Houston Oilers](/source/Houston_Oilers). He played the entire fifth game against the [Carolina Panthers](/source/Carolina_Panthers), despite having a torn meniscus in his right knee. He missed the next game against the [New Orleans Saints](/source/New_Orleans_Saints), while recovering from knee surgery. He did not start in the seventh game against the [New York Jets](/source/New_York_Jets), but still took over at center in the second quarter. He played only in the first offensive series of the divisional playoff game against the [Denver Broncos](/source/Denver_Broncos), after suffering a strained left calf, but still remained in the game as the [long snapper](/source/Long_snapper) on the [special teams](/source/Special_teams) units.

In [1997](/source/1997_NFL_season), he started at center for the first 8 games of the season, before being passed on the depth chart by [Michael Cheever](/source/Michael_Cheever). He returned to the starting lineup in the thirteenth game to replace an injured Cheever.

### Atlanta Falcons

On May 11, [1998](/source/1998_NFL_season), Widell signed as a [free agent](/source/Free_agent) with the [Atlanta Falcons](/source/Atlanta_Falcons), reuniting with [Dan Reeves](/source/Dan_Reeves) who was his head coach with the [Denver Broncos](/source/Denver_Broncos).[8] He was declared inactive in 14 games and played in only one contest. He was also a part of the Atlanta Falcons' [Super Bowl XXXIII](/source/Super_Bowl_XXXIII) losing team. He was released on February 17, [1999](/source/1999_NFL_season).[9]

## References

1. ["Widell Lets His Play Do The Talking"](https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-09-08-9709080159-story.html). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

1. ["1988 NFL Draft Listing"](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1988/draft.htm). *Pro-Football-Reference.com*. Retrieved 2023-09-24.

1. ["Cowboys suspend Gogan"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3025144/the-paris-news/). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

1. ["Johnson Evaluating Personnel"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19900825&id=CoVSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jDYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3585,4938852). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

1. ["Broncos Obtain Widell"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19900825&id=t-obAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u3oEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3902,5661911). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

1. ["Genius Eric Green Brings Life To Offense"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19901015&id=TH9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4GENAAAAIBAJ&pg=3889,4679861). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

1. ["Jaguars sign Widell"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19950316&id=bjUVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yQcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1149,121514). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

1. ["Falcons could have done more"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=392&dat=19980722&id=xmZOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Tz8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6203,3058468). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

1. ["Birds let Bennett gone"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=348&dat=19990218&id=T2owAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MTUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6873,4949455). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

## External links

- [Denver New City Of Brotherly Love](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-11-18-9004070801-story.html)
- [Dave Widell Boston College bio](https://bceagles.com/hof.aspx?hof=245&path=&kiosk=)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dave Widell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Widell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Widell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.