BREAKING NEWS: Mike Edwards becomes first Wildcat to win Super Bowl with two different teams

Former Kentucky safety Mike Edwards made history on Sunday night, becoming the only Wildcat to win a Super Bowl with two different teams when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Las Vegas.

Edwards finished with seven total tackles and a pass breakup as the Chiefs became the first team since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005 to win consecutive Super Bowls. He also won Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Former UK offensive lineman Darian Kinnard is also on the Chiefs practice squad.
Edwards, a Cincinnati native, was a four-year Wildcat standout, appearing in all 51 games and starting the last 44. His UK career totals included:

Ten interceptions, the fourth in school history.
Two interception returns for touchdowns.
318 tackles, second in school history for defensive backs.
20.5 tackles for loss, 23 pass breakups.

He received All-Southeastern Conference honours in his last three seasons, including second-team All-SEC by the Associated Press and Phil Steele as a senior, first-team All-SEC by Steele as a junior, and second-team All-SEC by AP as a sophomore.

Edwards helped lead the Wildcats to 29 wins over four seasons (2014–18), the second-highest total by a UK senior class since freshmen became eligible in the early 1970s. On January 1, 2019, the UK competed in three consecutive bowl games: the 2016 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, the 2017 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, and the VRBO Citrus Bowl. It was only the third time in school history that the UK participated in three consecutive postseason games. UK’s 10-3 record and Citrus Bowl championship in his senior season marked the program’s finest season in 41 years, dating back to the 1977 club, which went 10-1.
Edwards, who graduated from Kentucky with a degree in family sciences in 2018, was the 35th pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft and the 99th overall.

This is Edwards’ seventh season in the NFL and his first with the Chiefs. He played four seasons for the Buccaneers before joining Kansas City.

This season, Edwards has appeared in 17 games and has 51 tackles, five pass breakups, one interception, and a 97-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Kinnard, who played at Kentucky from 2018 to 2021, is in his second season with the Chiefs. During his Wildcat career, the Knoxville, Tennessee, native appeared in 46 games, including 39 consecutive starts. He was a key member of the “Big Blue Wall,” which has been nominated for the Joe Moore Award, presented to the nation’s best offensive line, four of the last five years, including finalists in 2021.

As a senior, he was voted a consensus first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Football Foundation, CBS/247Sports, Phil Steele, and the Senior Bowl. He was named a second-team All-American by Pro Football Focus, Sporting News, USA Today, and The Athletic. Pro Football Focus rated him 85 percent or higher as a run and pass blocker, making him one of only three Power Five conference linemen to do so. He was a unanimous first-team All-SEC selection.

Kinnard became only the second Kentucky player to earn the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, which has been given annually to the SEC’s finest blocker since 1935. He was also a semifinalist for the 2021 Rotary Lombardi Award, which honours an offensive or defensive lineman who combines outstanding performance on the field with the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, and the Outland Trophy, which honours the nation’s best interior lineman.

As a four-year letterman and three-year starter, he led Kentucky to a 33-17 record and four consecutive bowl wins. His career was marked by 10-3 records and Vrbo Citrus Bowl victories as a freshman (2018 season) and senior (2021). He blocked for three players who had three 1,000-yard running seasons, including Kentucky’s all-time top rusher, Benny Snell Jr. He was named first-team All-America as a senior and second-team All-America as a junior.

The UK has had 33 Wildcats play for teams that have made 44 Super Bowl appearances.

Carwell Gardner tops the chart with four Super Bowl appearances with Buffalo, Larry Seiple has three with Miami, and Jacob Tamme has three with Denver, Indianapolis, and Atlanta.