Cory Gene Raymer (born March 3, 1973) 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

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for 11 seasons 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). Raymer 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

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

, and was honored as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. A second-round pick in the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

, he played professionally for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Raymer was born in

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the southern end of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Fond du Lac met ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Cory Raymer
Retrieved February 6, 2012. He attended Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved February 6, 2012. and was a ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honorable mention selection and earned first-team all-state honors as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

College career

Raymer attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, where he played for the

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Bi ...

team from 1991 to 1994. As a senior in 1994, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American at center. He was Wisconsin's first consensus All-American since

Tim Krumrie Timothy Alan Krumrie (born May 20, 1960) is an American former professional American football, football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a nose tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1983 throu ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. Raymer was also one of 12 nominees for the 1994

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 ...

, which is awarded to college football's top lineman. He graduated from Wisconsin with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in letters and sciences.

Professional career

Raymer was selected by the

in the second round (37th pick) of the

. He played for the Redskins from to . In , while returning home from a fishing trip, a car crossed his path. In an attempt to avoid the car, Raymer turned over his vehicle and suffered a bruised

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

, fractured

vertebra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...

and badly sprained left

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

. This would cause him to miss the rest of the season and put his NFL career in jeopardy. However, Raymer played six games the following season and started three after

Jeff Uhlenhake Jeffrey Alan Uhlenhake ( ; born January 28, 1966) is an American former professional football center who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 1989 NFL draft. ...

was sidelined. The 1998 season marked the first time Raymer started all 16 games in an NFL season.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Cory Raymer
Retrieved February 6, 2012. He took the snap in all but one of the 1,029 offensive plays. Again in 1999 Raymer started all 16 games and also playoff games. He was a fixture on the Redskins'

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

, composed of Keith Sims and Tre Johnson at guard,

Andy Heck Andrew Robert Heck (born January 1, 1967) is an American professional football coach and former player. He is the offensive line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He played tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was ...

and

Jon Jansen Jonathan Ward Jansen (born January 28, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, and was selected by the ...

at tackle, the NFL's second-ranked offense that season with 443 points (27.7 points/game), with Brad Johnson at

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. In a wild card game of the 1999-00 NFL playoffs, Washington defeated the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, rushing for a massive 223 yards, as the interior line bowled over

s James Jones (defensive lineman) and

Luther Elliss Luther John Elliss (born March 22, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah Utes and was recognized as a co ...

with

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the li ...

Stephen Boyd William Millar (4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977), better known by his stage name Stephen Boyd, was an actor from Northern Ireland. He emerged as a leading man during the late 1950s with his role as the villainous Messala in '' Ben-Hur'' (19 ...

. But the Redskins lost to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the divisional round. The 2000 season was a setback for Raymer, suffering a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

in practice and reinjuring his

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

a month later, again in practice. This led to Raymer being placed on the

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 ...

and missing the entire season, not playing in a single game, replaced at starting center by Mark Fischer. But Raymer bounced back again in 2001 by starting in all 16 games in an 8-8 won-lost season. Raymer then went on to play for the

in 2002, while Larry Moore became the starting center for Washington. But Raymer but suffered a season-ending Achilles injury just three games into the season. The following year, Raymer again bounced back and played in 15 games, starting eight. On March 11, 2004, Raymer returned to the Redskins by signing as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, when he appeared in 15 games and started 14 in a 6–10 season. In 2005, he lost his starting job to free agent

Casey Rabach Casey Edward Rabach (; born September 24, 1977) is an American former professional football center. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2001 NFL draft, and also played professionally for the Washington Redskins. He ...

, but he did see action in two regular games and also against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in the divisional playoff game. After the season ended, he retired from football.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raymer, Cory 1973 births Living people All-American college football players American football centers Sportspeople from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin San Diego Chargers players Washington Redskins players Wisconsin Badgers football players