From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kona Schwenke
Personal information
Born:(1992-05-11)May 11, 1992
San Jose, California
Died:April 22, 2018(2018-04-22) (aged 25)
Laie, Hawaii
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:346 lb (157 kg)
Career information
High school: Kahuku ( Kahuku, Hawaii)
College: Notre Dame
Position: Defensive tackle
Undrafted: 2014
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Kona McKay Schwenke (May 11, 1992 – April 22, 2018) was an American football defensive tackle who played college football at Notre Dame.

Early years

Kona Schwenke was born to McKay and Angela Schwenke. Schwenke attended Kahuku High School in Kahuku, Hawaii where he graduated in 2010. [1]

College career

Schwenke committed to Notre Dame on February 3, 2010. Schwenke played all four years on the defensive line with the Fighting Irish, playing in 31 games over that span. [1]

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Schwenke went undrafted and signed a free agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs on May 19, 2014. [2] On August 30, 2014 Schwenke was released by the Chiefs as part of their final preseason roster cuts. [3] The following day Schwenke was signed to the Chiefs' practice squad. [4] On September 11, 2014 Schwenke was released from the practice squad to make room for Daniel Sorensen. [5]

New England Patriots

On September 16, 2014, the New England Patriots signed Schwenke to their practice squad. [6] Schwenke was released from the practice squad on November 5, 2014 to make room for Jonathan Krause. [7]

New York Jets

On December 4, 2014 Schwenke was signed to the New York Jets' practice squad and remain there until the end of the season. [8]

Oakland Raiders

On December 30, 2014 Schwenke signed a futures contract with the Oakland Raiders. [9]

Seattle Seahawks

On May 11, 2015 Schwenke was signed by the Seattle Seahawks after a three-day rookie mini-camp. [10] On August 21, in a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Schwenke suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and was subsequently waived the following day. [11] After clearing waivers Schwenke was placed on the Seahawks' injured reserve list. [12] Seahawks waived Schwenke on August 6, 2016 after they signed Jahri Evans.

Schwenke worked out for the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats during the 2017 preseason but was not signed to a contract.

Death

On April 22, 2018, Schwenke died in his sleep. [13] Coroners later determined he had drugs in his system. [14]

References

  1. ^ a b "96 – KONA SCHWENKE". UND.com. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  2. ^ "Chiefs sign two defensive linemen". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  3. ^ "Chiefs cut kicker Ryan Succop, linebacker Nico Johnson and 18 others". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  4. ^ "Chiefs claim Damion Square, sign nine to practice squad". NBCSports. September 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  5. ^ "Chiefs add safety Daniel Sorensen to practice squad". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  6. ^ "New England Patriots sign LB Darius Fleming, two others to practice squad". masslive. September 17, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  7. ^ "Patriots re-sign WR Jonathan Krause to practice squad". Patriots.com. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "Jets Sign Kona Schwenke To Practice Squad". SBNation. December 4, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  9. ^ "Raiders Announce Reserve/Future Signings". Raiders.com. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  10. ^ "Seahawks sign Julius Warmsley, Kona Schwenke following mini-camp tryouts". NBCSports.com. May 12, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  11. ^ "Seahawks waive OL Kona Schwenke". 247sports.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  12. ^ "Seahawks coach Pete Carroll on SS Kam Chancellor's holdout: 'Nothing's changed'". SeattlePi.com. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  13. ^ "Former Notre Dame DL Kona Schwenke dies at age 25". ESPN. April 23, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  14. ^ Abramo, Nick (August 25, 2020). "Isi Holani's Death At 24 Is Another In A Long String Of Hawaii Football Tragedies". Bedrock Sports Hawaii. Retrieved December 28, 2021.

External links