Eric Assad Bakhtiari (born December 2, 1984) 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 ...

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 line ...

. He was signed by the

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 ...

as an

undrafted 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 ...

in 2008. 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 ...

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 ...

. Bakhtiari was also a member of 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 ...

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 ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

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 ...

, and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He is the older brother of

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

tackle

David Bakhtiari David Afrasiab Assad Bakhtiari (born September 30, 1991) is an American professional football offensive tackle. Selected by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft, Bakhtiari played f ...

College career

In 2006, he earned third-team Associated Press All-America honors for all I-AA players, first-team Mid-Major All-American (The Sports Network), 2006 co-Pioneer Football League Defender of the Year, first-team All-Pioneer Football League. Making him a key performer of the USD defensive squad that ranked #2 in scoring defense (12.9 ppg), 10th in rushing defense (107.3 yards per game) and 12th in total defense.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers (first stint)

Bakhtiari signed with the

as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He was released by the Chargers on August 30 during final cuts, but re-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 ...

on September 10 when

Shawne Merriman Shawne DeAndre Merriman (born May 25, 1984), nicknamed "Lights Out", is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was se ...

was placed 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 ...

. He was released again on September 23.

San Francisco 49ers (first stint)

Bakhtiari was signed to the

of the

on October 7. He remained there through the end of the season.

San Diego Chargers (second stint)

After finishing the 2008 season on the practice squad of the 49ers, Bakhtiari was re-signed to a future contract by the

on January 7, 2009.

Tennessee Titans

Bakhtiari was signed to the

' practice squad on November 11, 2009. He was signed off the practice squad to active roster on December 12. He was released by the Titans on September 4, 2010.

Kansas City Chiefs

Bakhtiari was signed to the

' practice squad on November 18, 2010. On December 3, he was released. On January 13, 2011, he signed with the Chiefs again; on August 29, however, he was waived/injured during the first round of preseason cuts and after passing through waivers unclaimed, was subsequently placed on injured reserve. After reaching an injury settlement, Bakhtiari was released. Despite being on their roster for the 2010 season, he never played in a game during his tenure with the Chiefs.

San Francisco 49ers (second stint)

Bakhtiari was re-signed by the 49ers during the 2012 preseason. He played in the preseason as a backup to compete on the 53-man roster. After the end of the 2012 preseason, Bakhtiari was cut on August 31, 2012, with 27 other players. However, the 49ers later decided to sign him to a two-year contract. After releasing him earlier in the year, the 49ers re-signed Bakhtiari on December 12, 2012. On January 1, 2013, Bakhtiari was released by the 49ers to create a roster spot for kicker

Billy Cundiff William Ambrose Cundiff (born March 30, 1980) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Drake University, and was signed by ...

. Cundiff was signed to compete with struggling incumbent kicker

David Akers David Roy Akers (; born December 9, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998 with the Wa ...

Personal life

Bakhtiari is of

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

and Icelandic descent. His younger brother

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

is an offensive tackle, who played at

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

(2009–2012), and now plays for the

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakhtiari, Eric 1984 births Living people American people of Icelandic descent American people of Iranian descent American football defensive ends American football linebackers San Diego Toreros football players San Diego Chargers players San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Titans players Miami Dolphins players Kansas City Chiefs players Players of American football from San Mateo, California Sportspeople of Iranian descent Bakhtiari people