David Lee Quessenberry Jr. (born August 24, 1990) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

San José State Spartans The San Jose State Spartans are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Jose State University, San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA ...

and was selected by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the sixth round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He has also played for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

Early life

Born in the

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

community of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, Quessenberry attended

La Costa Canyon High School La Costa Canyon High School (LCC) is a public high school in Carlsbad, California. It is an International Baccalaureate World School and is part of the San Dieguito Union High School District, serving northwestern San Diego County. Established ...

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

, and lettered in

and lacrosse. Quessenberry played

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

at La Costa Canyon. His father played

at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

and served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1980 to 2010.

College career

David Quessenberry at the 2012 Military Bowl

Having no scholarship offers out of high school, Quessenberry met a

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

assistant coach who was recruiting a teammate. Quessenberry later walked-on to the Spartans football team at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

in 2008 and redshirted that year to bulk up from his 235-pound weight. He would go on to play in 50 games for the Spartans with 38 starts. As a freshman in 2009 under coach

Dick Tomey Richard Hastings Tomey (June 20, 1938 – May 10, 2019) was an American college football coach and player. Tomey served as the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (1977–1986), University of Arizona (1987–2000), and San J ...

, Quessenberry played in all 12 games mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and was a reserve at offensive tackle and

. Quessenberry first earned an athletic scholarship the summer before sophomore season of

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. In a 1–12 season under new coach

Mike MacIntyre George Michael MacIntyre (born March 14, 1965) is an American football coach who serves as a defensive analyst for Mississippi State. He previously served as the head football coach at FIU. MacIntyre began his coaching career in 1990 as a grad ...

, Quessenberry started in all 13 games at

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

and played mostly as a punt protector and

extra point Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

lineman. As a junior in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, Quessenberry again started all 12 games of the season, and San Jose State football improved to 5–7. Quessenberry earned second-team All-

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(WAC) honors. In his senior season, an 11–2 season in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

that included a

2012 Military Bowl The 2012 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman was a post-season American college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It wa ...

victory, Quessenberry became team captain and was a

Burlsworth Trophy The Burlsworth Trophy is an award given annually to the most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on. It was first awarded for the 2010 season and is a program of the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. Burlsworth w ...

finalist for best non-scholarship NCAA FBS player. He was also on the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...

watch list. After starting 27 straight games dating back to 2009, Quessenberry sat out the September 15 game due to an ankle injury suffered in the first play of the September 8 game. On September 29, Quessenberry played in a game against

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, a team with younger brother Paul as an offensive lineman. Selected for the

2013 Senior Bowl The 2013 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2012 college football season, and prospects for the 2013 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The 64th edition of the Senior Bo ...

, Quessenberry became the first San Jose State offensive lineman to play in a

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. He was a first-team all-WAC selection. In December 2012, Quessenberry graduated from San Jose State with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

Professional career

Houston Texans

The

selected Quessenberry in the sixth round with the 176th overall pick in the

. On September 10, 2013, the Texans placed Quessenberry on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

after he injured a foot during practice, a season-ending injury. On June 10, 2014, the Texans announced Quessenberry felt fatigue and had persistent cough. After seeking a medical evaluation, he was diagnosed with

Lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

. As a result, the Texans put him on the Non-Football Illness designation. He was waived by the Texans with a non-football injury designation in May 2016. He cleared waivers and was placed on the team's non-football injury list. After completing his cancer treatment, Quessenberry returned to practice with the Texans at the start of OTAs on May 23, 2017. On September 2, 2017, he was waived by the Texans and was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 19, 2017. Quessenberry made his NFL debut against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

on December 25, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Quessenberry was waived by the Texans.

Tennessee Titans

On September 11, 2018, Quessenberry was signed to the

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on December 31, 2018. On September 15, 2019, in a 19-17 Week 2 loss to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, Quessenberry caught his first receiving touchdown from a pass by

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

. On October 7, 2019, Quessenberry was released by the Titans and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on January 20, 2020. On September 5, 2020, Quessenberry was waived by the Titans and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 13 and 24 for the team's weeks 5 and 7 games against the

and

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on October 27, 2020. David Quessenberry 2021

Quessenberry was named the Titans starting right tackle in 2021, and started every game.

Buffalo Bills

On April 21, 2022, Quessenberry signed with the

on a one-year deal, appearing in 16 games with three starts. On March 27, 2023, Quessenberry re-signed with the Bills on a one-year deal. He was released on August 29.

Minnesota Vikings

On August 30, 2023, Quessenberry signed with the

, appearing in 16 games with four starts. He re-signed with the team on March 11, 2024, and appeared in all 17 games during the regular season.

Los Angeles Rams

On May 29, 2025, Quessenberry was signed by the

to a one-year contact.

Personal life

In June 2014, Quessenberry was diagnosed with

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tire ...

after experiencing fatigue and persistent cough. On February 25, 2015, his cancer went into remission after completing radiation treatment, then on April 13, 2017, he officially completed his cancer treatment. On June 12, 2017, Quessenberry won the 2017

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

Award. The award is given to the "player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed". His brother Scott Quessenberry was the 155th overall pick in the fifth round of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

by the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. Another brother, Paul Quessenberry, is a former tight end. Quessenberry hosts an annual golf tournament at different golf destinations all over the world (FIMA Golf Tournament).

References

External links

Los Angeles Rams bioSan Jose State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quessenberry, David 1990 births Living people American football offensive tackles Players of American football from Carlsbad, California Sportspeople from La Jolla, San Diego Players of American football from San Diego San Jose State Spartans football players Buffalo Bills players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Tennessee Titans players Minnesota Vikings players La Costa Canyon High School alumni Los Angeles Rams players