Aaron Cann (born October 23, 1991) 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 ...

guard. 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 South Carolina Gamecocks, and was selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Early life

Cann attended Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School in Bamberg, South Carolina, where he played

and competed in track. He committed to play

at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

in June 2009. Cann's mother died of throat cancer on October 7, 2007.

College career

Cann was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a freshman in 2010. In 2011, he became a starter at left guard. In 2013, he was named a permanent team captain. Cann had started 38 of 39 games entering his senior season. As a senior in 2014, he started all 13 games and was named an All-American. Cann was a four-year starter, starting in 51 games, the second-most in school history to T. J. Johnson who started 53 games.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Cann was drafted by the

in the third round, 67th overall, in the 2015 NFL draft. During his rookie season in 2015, Cann started 13 games at right guard while playing a total of 14 games. In 2016, Cann saw a full-time role on the offensive line, starting all 16 games at the right guard position for the Jaguars. Cann maintained his starting job at right guard in 2017 and 2018, starting 15 games both seasons, missing one each season, both due to a triceps injury. On March 13, 2019, Cann signed a three-year, $15 million contract extension with the Jaguars. On October 4, 2021, Cann was placed on injured reserve.

Houston Texans

On March 23, 2022, Cann signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract with 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 ...

. He was named the Texans starting right guard, and started 16 games. Cann was released on March 16, 2023.

References

External links

*
South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cann, A. J. 1991 births Living people People from Bamberg, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina American football offensive guards South Carolina Gamecocks football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen