American football player (born 1995)
American football player
Kenneth Duane Clark Jr.
(born October 4, 1995) is an
American football
defensive tackle
for the
Green Bay Packers
of the
National Football League
(NFL). Playing
college football
for the
UCLA Bruins
, he was named a third-team
All-American
as a junior in 2015, when he also earned his second
all-conference
selection in the
Pac-12
. He was selected by the Packers in the first round of the
2016 NFL draft
, with the 27th overall pick.
Early years
[
edit
]
Clark attended
Wilmer Amina Carter High School
in
Rialto, California
. As a senior, he had 71 tackles and 11 sacks. He was rated by
Rivals.com
as a four-star recruit and committed to the
University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) to play
college football
.
[1]
Clark also wrestled in high school.
[2]
College career
[
edit
]
Clark catching a touchdown pass for UCLA in 2015
Clark appeared in all 13 games as a
true freshman
at UCLA in
2013
.
[3]
He started four games and had 31
tackles
. As a sophomore in
2014
, Clark was a second-team
All-Pac-12 Conference
selection after starting all 13 games and making 58 tackles.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Already established as a strong run defender, he improved as a pass rusher as a junior after entering
2015
with just one career
sack
. He had a career-high three sacks against
Washington State
.
[7]
He was named third-team
All-American
by the
Associated Press
and was the lone Bruin named first-team All-Pac-12.
[8]
[9]
Clark had a career-high 11 tackles in the
Foster Farms Bowl
against
Nebraska
, and ranked second on the team with 75 tackles and six sacks. After the season, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the
2016 NFL draft
.
[10]
Professional career
[
edit
]
Clark was selected in the first round (27th overall) by the
Green Bay Packers
in the 2016 NFL Draft.
[14]
On July 17, 2016, the Green Bay Packers signed Clark to a four-year, $9.36 million contract with $7.18 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $5.00 million.
[15]
[16]
He began his rookie season as a starting defensive tackle alongside veteran
Mike Daniels
. He was also named a backup and rotational
defensive end
in the Packers' 3?4 defense.
[17]
Clark made his professional debut in the Packers' season opener against the
Jacksonville Jaguars
and made one assisted tackle in the 27?23 victory. On September 25, 2016, he made his first career start against the
Detroit Lions
and racked up a total of four tackles in the Packer's win. In Week 14, Clark made four combined tackles during a 38?10 victory against the
Seattle Seahawks
.
[18]
As a rookie in 2016, Clark finished with 21 tackles and two passes defended in 16 games.
In Week 13 of the 2017 season, Clark recorded 1.5 sacks, his first of his NFL career and 6 combined tackles in a 26?20 overtime win over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
. He finished the season with 4.5 sacks and 55 tackles.
Clark had a breakout season in 2018, recording 55 tackles, three passes defensed, and six sacks, and was named a
Pro Bowl
alternate. He suffered an elbow injury in Week 14 and was placed on
injured reserve
on December 25, 2018.
[19]
Clark in a game against the
Washington Redskins
On April 22, 2019, the Packers picked up the fifth-year option on Clark's contract.
[20]
On August 15, 2020, Clark signed a four-year, $70 million contract extension with a $25 million signing bonus.
[21]
In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the
Los Angeles Rams
, Clark recorded 1.5 sacks on
Jared Goff
during the 32?18 win.
[22]
On December 23, 2021, Clark was named to his second Pro Bowl.
[23]
On February 23, 2022, Clark agreed to a restructured deal that converted $13.6 million into a signing bonus to save $10.9 million of salary cap space.
[24]
On January 30, 2024, Clark was selected to the
2024 Pro Bowl Games
, replacing
San Francisco 49ers
defensive tackle
Javon Hargrave
due to him participating in
Super Bowl LVIII
. This was his third Pro Bowl selection.
[25]
NFL career statistics
[
edit
]
Regular season
[
edit
]
Season
|
Team
|
GP
|
GS
|
Total
|
Solo
|
Ast
|
Sck
|
FF
|
FR
|
PD
|
2016
|
GB
|
16
|
2
|
21
|
13
|
8
|
0.0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
2017
|
GB
|
15
|
15
|
55
|
32
|
23
|
4.5
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
2018
|
GB
|
13
|
13
|
55
|
36
|
19
|
6.0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
2019
|
GB
|
16
|
16
|
62
|
31
|
31
|
6.0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2020
|
GB
|
13
|
13
|
42
|
28
|
14
|
2.0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2021
|
GB
|
16
|
16
|
48
|
27
|
21
|
4.0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2022
|
GB
|
17
|
17
|
53
|
27
|
26
|
4.0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2023
|
GB
|
17
|
17
|
44
|
22
|
22
|
7.5
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
Total
|
123
|
109
|
380
|
216
|
164
|
34.0
|
7
|
6
|
10
|
Source:
pro-football-reference.com
|
Postseason
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Rivals"
.
- ^
"High School Wrestling: UCLA football commit Kenny Clark competing in state meet"
.
Los Angeles Daily News
. Archived from
the original
on May 2, 2016
. Retrieved
October 10,
2015
.
- ^
"UCLA football notes: Kenny Clark growing into anchor for Bruins' defensive line"
.
Los Angeles Daily News
. April 24, 2014.
- ^
KYLE GLASER (September 1, 2015).
"UCLA: Rialto Carter's Clark a defensive force up front"
.
Press Enterprise
.
- ^
"UCLA DT Kenny Clark stands tall among Pac-12's best players"
. ESPN.
- ^
18 Bruins Named to Football All-Conference Teams
Archived
December 8, 2015, at the
Wayback Machine
, UCLABruins.com, December 2, 2014
- ^
Terrill, Mark J. (November 18, 2015).
"UCLA nose tackle Kenny Clark expands his repertoire"
.
The Orange County Register
.
Archived
from the original on November 21, 2015.
- ^
Haney, Travis (December 13, 2015).
"Heisman winner Henry leads selections for Associated Press All-America Team"
. ESPN.
Archived
from the original on December 15, 2015.
- ^
Kaufman, Joey (December 1, 2015).
"UCLA DT Kenny Clark on All-Pac-12 first team; eight Bruins on second team"
.
Orange County Register
.
Archived
from the original on December 5, 2015.
- ^
Wang, Jack (December 28, 2015).
"UCLA nose tackle Kenny Clark declares for NFL draft"
.
Los Angeles Daily News
.
Archived
from the original on March 4, 2016.
- ^
"Green Bay Packers' picks in the 2016 NFL draft"
.
JSOnline.com
. April 30, 2016.
Archived
from the original on April 21, 2018
. Retrieved
April 21,
2018
.
- ^
"NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles ? Kenny Clark"
. National Football League
. Retrieved
July 26,
2016
.
- ^
"Kenny Clark ? UCLA, DT : 2016 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile"
.
NFLDraftScout.com
. Retrieved
July 26,
2016
.
- ^
"Kenny Clark NFL Draft Profile"
. National Football League
. Retrieved
July 26,
2016
.
- ^
"Sportrac.com: Kenny Clark contract"
.
sportrac.com
. Retrieved
December 21,
2016
.
- ^
"Packers sign first-round draft pick Kenny Clark"
.
Packers.com
. July 17, 2016
. Retrieved
July 26,
2016
.
- ^
"Ourlads.com: Green Bay Packer's Depth Chart"
.
ourlads.com
. Retrieved
December 21,
2016
.
- ^
"NFL Player Profile: Kenny Clark"
. National Football League
. Retrieved
December 21,
2016
.
- ^
Alper, Josh (December 25, 2018).
"Packers put Kenny Clark on injured reserve"
.
Pro Football Talk
. NBC Sports.
- ^
"Packers plan to pick up Kenny Clark's fifth-year option"
. Acme Packing Company. April 22, 2019.
- ^
"Packers sign DL Kenny Clark to contract extension"
.
Packers.com
. August 15, 2020.
- ^
"Divisional Round ? Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers ? January 16th, 2021"
.
Pro-Football-Reference.com
. Retrieved
January 20,
2021
.
- ^
"2022 NFL Pro Bowl rosters for AFC, NFC: Bucs' Tom Brady gets record 15th selection"
. ESPN. December 23, 2021
. Retrieved
December 24,
2021
.
- ^
"Packers restructure Kenny Clark's contract, create almost $11M in salary cap space"
.
USA Today
. February 23, 2022
. Retrieved
February 23,
2022
.
- ^
"Packers DL Kenny Clark named to 2024 Pro Bowl Games"
.
www.packers.com
. Retrieved
January 30,
2024
.
External links
[
edit
]