Cullen Finnerty

Cullen Finnerty (August 18, 1982 – May 27, 2013) was an American football quarterback. He played college football at Grand Valley State, leading the Grand Valley Lakers to NCAA Division II Football Championships in 2003, 2005, and 2006. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2007.

Finnerty was found dead on May 28, 2013, in Lake County, Michigan.

Statistics

Sources:

Awards and honors 51–4 career record as a starting quarterback—the winningest quarterback in college football history, regardless of NCAA Division 2003 GLIAC Freshman of the Year 2003 GVSU Rookie of the Year GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week 2003(2 times) D2Football.com Player of the Week 2003 2005 GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week 2006 (2 times) 2006 GLIAC Player of the Year 2006 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' All-America Team 2006 Daktronics First-team All American Finalist, 2006 Harlon Hill Trophy – 2nd place D2Football.com Player of the Decade (2000–2009)

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft, Finnerty was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent. However, he was released by the team in July before the preseason.

Finnerty was re-signed to the practice squad during the season, and was promoted to the active roster for the final two games of the season after an injury to Kyle Boller.

An exclusive-rights free agent in the 2008 offseason, Finnerty was not tendered a contract by the Ravens.

Denver Broncos On March 27, 2008, Finnerty was signed by the Denver Broncos.

On June 13, 2008, Finnerty was placed on waivers by the Broncos.

Cineplexx Blue Devils In October 2008, Finnerty joined the Cineplexx Blue Devils of Austria. The Blue Devils play in the Austrian Football League second highest level currently.

Finnerty led the team to win the Bodensee Cup tournament. He threw three touchdown passes, ran for a touchdown, and kicked a 26-yard field goal in a 31–13 win over the Swiss national team in the Bodensee Cup title game.

Finnerty was named MVP of the tournament.

Muskegon Thunder Finnerty was the starting quarterback of the Muskegon Thunder of the CIFL. In 2009 in two games, he had 123 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns to go along with a completion percentage of 46.9 for the 2009 Indoor Football League season.

Personal life Cullen Finnerty's parents Tim and Maureen Finnerty live in Brighton, Michigan. Cullen and his wife Jennifer lived in Michigan with their two small children.

Disappearance and death On May 26, 2013, Finnerty was reported missing after he went fishing on the Baldwin River in Michigan.

On the evening of May 28, Finnerty was found dead in the woods by local search crews one mile from his fishing boat in Lake County, Michigan. His body had no signs of trauma and was dressed for the elements. An autopsy, released in August 2013, showed Finnerty died of pneumonia brought on by inhalation of vomit after he became disoriented. Finnerty was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.

The New York Times ran an article about his life and death in June 2013.