) is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive end

Defensive end

Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

 who is currently a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 15th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft

2003 NFL Draft

The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

.

McDougle has also played for the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He is the younger brother of NFL offensive lineman Stockar McDougle

Stockar McDougle

Stockar McDougle is an American football offensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions 20th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...

.

College career

McDougle was a standout defensive player at the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

. Among his collegiate

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 accomplishments, he helped lead the University of Miami to its 12-0 national championship season in 2001.

Philadelphia Eagles

Following his college career, McDougle was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2003 NFL Draft

2003 NFL Draft

The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...

 with the 15th overall selection in the draft's first round. The Eagles traded up 15 spots to obtain McDougle, making him the first University of Miami player to be drafted by the Eagles since Jerome Brown, whose promising NFL career was cut short by a fatal 1992 car accident.

With the Eagles, McDougle was plagued by injuries in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In the final 2003 pre-season game, he sustained ankle, knee and hip injuries during a game against the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, forcing him to miss eight games of the 2003 season.

During the 2004 season, he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, forcing him to miss one game. Later in the 2004 season, he suffered a knee sprain in a game against the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

, and the Eagles declared him inactive for the subsequent final four games of the 2004 season.

On July 28, 2005, just four days before McDougle was scheduled to arrive for the Eagles 2005 training camp in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...

, he was shot in the abdomen

Abdomen

In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...

 during a robbery in Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

. Following the shooting, McDougle was flown by helicopter to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

McDougle initially was expected to recover fully and play for the Eagles in the 2005 season. However, further complications from the shooting and surgery left him out for the entire 2005 season.

In July 2006, McDougle made his NFL return, joining the Eagles at their 2006 training camp practices. He performed well in pre-season outings, recording an impressive sack of former collegiate teammate Ken Dorsey

Ken Dorsey

Kenneth Simon "Ken" Dorsey is a former football quarterback. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami. A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist at Miami, Dorsey played for the Cleveland Browns from 2006–2008...

 in the Eagles' pre-season game against the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. On August 15, however, Eagles coach Andy Reid

Andy Reid

Andrew Walter "Andy" Reid is the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL, a post he has held since 1999. Since 2001, he has also been the team's executive vice president of football operations...

 announced that McDougle had sustained fractures to two ribs in pre-season training practices and would require approximately three weeks for recuperation. He was reactivated in September 2006.

McDougle's pass rushing and run defense capabilities were expected to be an important part of the 2006 Eagles defense, which featured high levels of substitutions of defensive linemen in situational-oriented defenses.

McDougle's actions on the field proved costly to the Eagles during a controversial Eagles 23-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

 on October 22, 2006. In the fourth quarter of a closely contested game played in 105-degree Tampa Bay heat, McDougle closed in on Buccaneer quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 Bruce Gradkowski

Bruce Gradkowski

Bruce Raymond Gradkowski is an American Football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at Toledo.Gradkowski has previously been a member of the Tampa...

, dropping him for a nine-yard loss in a critical quarterback sack

Quarterback sack

In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...

. As McDougle brought Gradkowski to the ground at Raymond James Stadium

Raymond James Stadium

Raymond James Stadium, also known as the "Ray Jay", is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Tampa, Florida. It is home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as the NCAA's South Florida Bulls football team. The stadium seats 65,857 , and it is expandable to 75,000 for special events...

, however, he appeared to grab Gradkowski's face mask, resulting in a 15-yard intentional face-masking penalty against the Eagles. The 15-yard nature of the penalty was questionable, with replays showing that McDougle's grasp of Gradkowski's face mask appeared unintentional, which, if true, should have resulted in only a five-yard penalty.

Seeing that he had been penalized 15 yards, McDougle kicked the referee's flag in anger, resulting in an additional 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct

Unsportsmanlike conduct

Unsportsmanlike conduct is a foul or offense in many sports that is not necessarily a violation of the respective sport's rules of play, but violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmanship and/or participant conduct...

 penalty, for a total of 30 yards in penalties. The two penalties incurred by McDougle greatly enhanced the Buccaneers' field position, leading to a Buccaneers field goal, which proved the difference in the game's outcome, which ultimately was won by Tampa Bay on a 62-yard Buccaneers' field goal (the third longest in NFL history) as time expired.

In 2007, McDougle was again injured, tearing his triceps, this time in the Eagles' pre-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

; he did not return during the 2007 season.

On August 30, 2008, the Eagles released him during final cuts.

New York Giants

A day after being released from the Eagles, McDougle was signed by the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 on August 31, 2008. He became a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

after the season, and has yet to sign with another team.