Nick Keizer (born May 2, 1995) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

in 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

Grand Valley State Lakers The Grand Valley State Lakers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Grand Valley State University, located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The GVSU Lakers compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Interc ...

Early years

Keizer was born to a family of Latvian descent, and grew up in

Portage, Michigan Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States. The population was 48,891 at the 2020 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of ...

. He attended Portage Northern High School where he played baseball and

. As a senior, he had 19 receptions for 353 yards and three touchdowns on offense and 28 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and two sacks on defense and was named Division 2 All-State and selected to play in Michigan's East-West All Star Game.

College career

Keizer was a member of the

, redshirting as a true freshman. As a redshirt senior, Keizer was named first-team All-

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its eleven member ...

(GLIAC) after leading tight ends in the conference with 29 receptions for 504 yards and nine touchdowns. Keizer finished his collegiate career with 45 receptions for 734 yards and 11 touchdown receptions.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Keizer was signed by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He was cut at the end of training camp but was re-signed to the team's practice squad. He signed a futures deal after the season, but was released.

Kansas City Chiefs

Keizer was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

on May 31, 2019. He was waived during final roster cuts, but was re-signed to the practice squad and remained there for the rest of the season. He signed a futures contract with the team on February 4, 2020, and made the team coming out of training camp in 2020. Keizer made his NFL debut in the season opener on September 10, 2020, against 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 ...

, serving as the team's second tight end and making a tackle on special teams in a 34–20 win. Keizer re-signed to a one-year contract with the Chiefs on March 23, 2021. He announced his retirement on August 8, 2021.

References

External links

Grand Valley State Lakers profile

Kansas City Chiefs profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keizer, Nick 1995 births Living people American people of Latvian descent Players of American football from Michigan American football tight ends Grand Valley State Lakers football players Kansas City Chiefs players Baltimore Ravens players