“When they finally released me, I was ecstatic.”GLENN CADREZ MIAMI – Funny how things work out sometimes.
Back in 1992, Glenn Cadrez was a no-name, switch-of-position project with the Jets as a low-round pick. He struggled to make the team as a special-teams contributor as he watched the team try to groom two higher-round picks at his position.
“If I’d have come in as the only linebacker drafted, I would have had higher expectations,” Cadrez said. “But I was a defensive end in college and didn’t play in the Senior Bowl or go to the [scouting] combine. I was happy to get drafted [in the sixth round in 1992].
But the Jets drafted two linebackers ahead of Cadrez that year – Kurt Barber in the second round and Keo Coleman in the fourth round. So there wasn’t much room for Cadrez to nudge his way into the lineup.
Funny how things worked out, though.
Cadrez, who was second on the Broncos in tackles this season as a full-time starter for the first time, will play in his second consecutive Super Bowl Sunday. Barber and Coleman, neither of whom came close to fulfilling their high-draft-pick potential, are out of the league.
Cadrez, starting all 16 games at middle linebacker this season after starting only seven in 91 career games entering 1998, had 105 tackles, four sacks, two INTs and three forced fumbles this season.
“It’s so far removed I don’t even think about it,” Cadrez said of his New York days. “It was a learning experience. There were some teammates who I was honored to play with, like Ronnie Lott.
“But, after three years of no opportunities it got to the point where I went to [Jets’ player personnel man] Dick Haley and said, ‘Just let me go, so I can try to make it somewhere else.’ He told me it wasn’t that easy, that he couldn’t just let talent go without getting something in return.
“When they finally released me, I was ecstatic,” Cadrez went on. “I had been going nowhere. My career was at a dead end. New York gave me a taste of the NFL. It gave me a good idea of what can go on. There were a lot of issues with that club at the time.”
Now, Cadrez’s only issue to trying to earn his second Super Bowl ring.
