Netane Muti (born March 27, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

High school career

A two-way lineman for Leilehua, Muti was not highly recruited coming out of high school. He originally committed to play for his home state's

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and competes at ...

, signing a letter of intent with the

University of Hawai'i A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

on National Signing Day. However, after his application was put on hold due to a test score, he asked for and was granted release from U.H. and went on to sign with

College career

Muti redshirted in his first season at Fresno State following an Achilles injury suffered in preseason. In 2017, as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. A ...

, Muti started all 14 games, as a member of an offensive line which ranked third in the nation in sacks and tackles for loss allowed. For his performance, he received Honorable Mention All-Mountain West honors. In 2018, his campaign was cut short by a season-ending Achilles injury suffered in the third game of the season. In 2019, as a redshirt junior, he was again struck by injury, as a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury sidelined him for the final nine games of the year. In January 2020, despite having played only five full games over the previous two seasons, Muti announced that he would forgo his final season of college eligibility and declare for the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

. Muti was cleared by doctors at the 2020

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

, where his bench press was the highest total at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Muti was selected by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

with the 181st overall pick in the sixth round of the

. He was placed on the active/

non-football injury list Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...

at the start of training camp on July 28, 2020, and he was moved back to the active roster six days later. On August 30, 2022, Muti was waived by the Broncos and signed to the practice squad the next day.

Las Vegas Raiders

On December 13, 2022, Muti was signed by the

off the Broncos practice squad.

Personal life

Muti was born and raised in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

(where he learned to play

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

) before later moving to

Wahiawa Wahiawa ( haw, Wahiawā, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawa District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that comprise the ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

where he started to play football

References

1999 births Living people Tongan players of American football People from Wahiawa, Hawaii Players of American football from Hawaii American football offensive guards Fresno State Bulldogs football players Denver Broncos players Tongan emigrants to the United States Las Vegas Raiders players {{offensive-lineman-1990s-stub