Kenneth Gainwell
Kenneth Gainwell is an American professional football running back and kick returner for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He played college football for the Memphis Tigers.
Early life
Gainwell grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi and attended Yazoo County High School. He was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Panthers. As a junior, he passed for 1,184 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 1,292 yards and 20 touchdowns. During the summer going into his senior season Gainwell committed to play college football at Memphis over offers from Ole Miss and Tulane. As a senior, he passed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns and ran for 1,834 yards and 32 touchdowns. Gainwell was named Class 3A Mr. Football as he led the Panthers to a 14–1 record and an appearance in the Class 3A state championship game. Gainwell finished his high school career with 3,682 yards passing and 32 passing touchdowns and 4,730 rushing yards and 75 rushing touchdowns with one kickoff returned for a touchdown.College career
Gainwell moved to running back during summer training camp and played in four games as a true freshman before deciding to redshirt the rest of the season. He finished the season with four carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, a 73-yard run, and six receptions for 52 yards.As a redshirt freshman, Gainwell was named the Tigers' starting running back following the departure of Tony Pollard. He was named the co-American Athletic Conference player of the week after rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown and gaining 204 yards and scoring two touchdowns on nine receptions on October 19, 2019, in a 47–17 win over Tulane. He rushed for 1,459 yards with 13 touchdowns on 231 carries and caught 51 passes for 610 yards and three touchdowns and was named the AAC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-AAC. He was named a second-team All-American by the Sporting News and the American Football Coaches Association, the National Freshman of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America and won the Shaun Alexander Award.
Gainwell opted out of his final college season six days before the season opener after multiple family members died from COVID-19.
Professional career
Philadelphia Eagles
Gainwell was selected in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2021 NFL draft. Gainwell was happy to be drafted by Philadelphia, as he grew up an Eagles fan, and his favorite player while growing up, Darren Sproles, works for the team as a consultant. Gainwell also said that he modeled his game after Sproles. He signed his four-year rookie contract with Philadelphia on June 3, 2021. Gainwell found moderate success as a rookie, as he ended the year with 68 carries for 291 yards and five touchdowns, while adding 33 receptions for 253 yards and one touchdown. Gainwell appeared in 16 games as a rookie, as he was a healthy scratch for the Eagles' week 11 showdown with the New Orleans Saints.In the 2022 season, Gainwell had 53 carries for 240 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 23 receptions for 169 receiving yards. In the team's 38–7 Divisional Round victory over the New York Giants, he had 10 carries for a career high 112 yards and a touchdown, as well as one reception for nine yards. This performance made him just the sixth Eagles player to rush for at least 100 yards in a postseason game. Gainwell helped the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII where they lost 38–35 to the Kansas City Chiefs. In the Super Bowl, Gainwell had seven carries for 21 rushing yards and four receptions for 20 receiving yards.
Gainwell got off to a slow start during the 2023 season. During a Week 9 game against the Washington Commanders in which he lost a fumble, Gainwell received criticism for responding to a fan's critical Instagram post at halftime. In the 2023 season, he had 84 carries for 364 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go with 30 receptions for 183 receiving yards. In the 2024 season, Gainwell had 75 carries for 290 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go with 16 receptions for 116 receiving yards to go with some kick return duties. In Super Bowl LIX, he had six carries for ten yards in the 40–22 win over the Chiefs.
Pittsburgh Steelers
On March 13, 2025, Gainwell signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On September 2, he was named the team's backup running back behind Jaylen Warren and the team's kick return specialist.Gainwell made his Steelers debut on September 7, recording seven rushes for 19 yards. His longest rush of the game was nine yards, which led the team. Gainwell also made three catches for four yards as the Steelers won 34–32.