Jared Raymond Lorenzen was born on February 14th, 1981 and died on July 3rd, 2019. He was an American football quarterback and former commissioner of the Ultimate Indoor Football League. Listed at 6-foot-4, 285 pounds during his playing days and nicknamed “The Hefty Lefty,” Lorenzen played college football at Kentucky and was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2004.
Lorenzen earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII as the backup quarterback behind Eli Manning when the team defeated the then-undefeated New England Patriots in 2007.
Jared Lorenzen Early & College Career
Lorenzen attended Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. When Lorenzen arrived at Kentucky, he redshirted as a true freshman. As a redshirt freshman, he was named the team’s starting quarterback by head coach Hal Mumme ahead of returning starter Dusty Bonner.
Jared Lorenzen Professional Career
New York Giants
In the 2004 NFL Drat, Lorenzen was not selected and signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants. In 2005, He declined an offer by coach Tom Coughlin to play NFL Europe. Lorenzen was the third-string quarterback for 2004 and 2005 for the Giants.
In the 2006 preseason, Lorenzen led his team to victory by engineering a game-winning drive against the Baltimore Ravens. Following that performance and an impressive training camp he was officially named the Giants’ backup quarterback three weeks later.
Lorenzen made his first appearance on the field in a Giants uniform on December 30th, 2006. During this game, he was used for one play, a quarterback sneak to make the first down on a third-and-one.
Lorenzen was released by the Giants on June 23rd, 2008.
Rest in Peace to a college legend.
Jared Lorenzen was a baller. pic.twitter.com/iHpnv2B9ER
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) July 3, 2019
Indianapolis Colts
Lorenzen was signed by the Indianapolis Colts on July 24, 2008. He was waived during the final cuts for the 53-man roster.
Kentucky Horsemen
On February 10th, 2009, Lorenzen was assigned to the Kentucky Horsemen of af2. The team went bankrupt and was dissolved in October 2009.
Coaching
After the Horsemen folded, Lorenzen retired as a player. On March 23, 2010, he was hired as the quarterbacks’ coach at his alma mater, Highlands High School, in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.
Northern Kentucky River Monsters
Lorenzen went back to pro football, this time as working as the general manager of the Northern Kentucky River Monsters of the Ultimate Indoor Football League in 2011. Still wanting to compete, Lorenzen resigned as GM to become the team’s starting quarterback. Lorenzen had a highly successful season, winning the league’s MVP award.
UIFL Commissioner
After gaining some positive press for his return to football, Lorenzen was named commissioner of the league after the 2011 season.
Owensboro Rage
Lorenzen quit the UIFL’s top job and signed with the Owensboro Rage of the Continental Indoor Football League partway through the 2013 season. The Rage folded two weeks prior to the end of the season due to financial distress.
Return to the River Monsters
On December 17th, 2013, Lorenzen returned to the River Monsters, by this point a member of the Continental Indoor Football League. In Lorenzen’s first game of the season, Lorenzen showed that he still had plenty of skill, side-stepping defenders.
Jared Lorenzen Post-football career
Until his death, Lorenzen was a guest host of the Lexington-based radio show Kentucky Sports Radio, mainly during UK Football season. In 2015, he also started his own T-shirt company known as ThrowboyTees.
Jared Lorenzen Ex-Wife (Tamara Tabar) & Children
Lorenzen dated the former Tamara Tabar since high school. Tamara Michelle Lorenzen of Fort Thomas was working on her degree at a university in Kentucky when she found out she was pregnant. Their daughter Taylar was born in July 2002. They also had one son Tayden born in 2009.
According to her Linkedln profile, Tamara holds a bachelor of science in business administration and management from Northern Kentucky University. She is also a registered nurse with a degree as a family nurse practitioner from Indiana Wesleyan University.
— Tamara Lorenzen (@TamaraLorenzen) December 16, 2013
Tamara, was the owner of John Phillips Restaurant from 2008 to 2013; she was an oncology nurse at St. Elizabeth Healthcare and a nurse navigator at the OHN (Oncology Hematology Care). Subsequently, in 2016 worked as a nurse educator for Merck and nowadays, she is an oncology sales specialist for AstraZeneca.
It is clear why or when Jared and Tamara Lorenzen divorced. A 2014 ESPN article referred to Tamara as the ex-wife. She is today dating Mart Arnzen.
Jared Lorenzen Obesity
On July 28, 2017, Lorenzen launched “The Jared Lorenzen Project”, where he chronicled online his attempts at battling his obesity, weighing over 500 lbs. By April 2018, Lorenzen had lost over 100 pounds. His story was documented by ESPN in July 2018.
Listening to this interview from Jared Lorenzen in 2016 is heartbreaking. Please say a prayer for his family.
"Life's too short to cry about stuff. So get out there laugh, smile and have fun doing it." pic.twitter.com/82ZvKYtwZ1
— Lee K. Howard (@HowardWKYT) July 3, 2019
Jared Lorenzen Death and Cause
Lorenzen died July 3rd, 2019 from complications of an acute infection, complicated by obesity-related heart and kidney problems.
Lorenzen had been battling heart and kidney issues, as well as an infection, and according to the New York Post, was hospitalized on Friday.
In a text to ESPN, Jared’s mother wrote: “I lost my sweet boy today after a long hard fight.”
“Please keep Jared’s family and especially his children, in your thoughts and prayers,” the Lorenzen family said in a statement.
Here is a statement from the family of Jared Lorenzen pic.twitter.com/vTJn2gdNU5
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) July 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/MatthewMarrs5/status/1146140062570242048
