Germain Ifedi (born June 2, 1994) 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 ...

offensive tackle for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

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

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

and was drafted by 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

in the first round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft be ...

Early years

A native of

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, Ifedi attended Westside High School, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track. He earned second-team All-State honors by the ''

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''. He recorded 96

pancake blocks The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

as a senior, and also blocked a kick. The Westside Wolves went 10–4 on the season, losing the

UIL The Uil ( kk, Ойыл, translit=Oyyl; russian: Уил, translit=Uil) is a river of western Kazakhstan. It discharges into the Lake Aktobe A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any ...

5A Division II Regional Final to Dekaney, which were led by running back

Trey Williams Trey Williams (born December 11, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Williams has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patrio ...

. Regarded a four-star recruit by

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and

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, Ifedi was listed the No. 13

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

prospect in his class.

College career

After redshirting in his first year at Texas A&M, Ifedi started at

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...

all 13 season games on the

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, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

. The Aggies offensive line, that also included tackles Jake Matthews and

Cedric Ogbuehi Cedric Ogbuehi (born April 25, 1992) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas A&M, and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He has played in ...

, blocked for an offense that ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring, passing and total offense. Quarterback

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a me ...

completed 69 percent of his passes over the season, for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns, and lead the team in rushing yards with 759. After the season, Ifedi was named Freshman All-American by ''

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''. In his sophomore season, Ifedi replaced Ogbuehi at

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

(after Ogbuehi had to replace Matthews at left tackle). Ifedi started all but two games of the season, missing the Auburn and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

games due to a sprained knee suffered against

Louisiana–Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Ce ...

. The Aggies offensive line allowed only 27 sacks (2.1 per game), while quarterbacks Kenny Hill and

Kyle Allen Kyle Allen (born March 8, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, he played high school football at Desert Mountain and was among the top football ...

attempted a combined 514 passes (39.5 per game), leading the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

in passing yards and touchdowns per game.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Ifedi was selected in the first round with the 31st overall pick by the

. He became the fourth consecutive Texas A&M Aggies offensive lineman selected in the first round of an NFL Draft, after

Luke Joeckel Luke Tobias Joeckel (; born November 6, 1991) is a former American football offensive lineman. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars second overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas A&M, starting all 37 games at l ...

(

), Jake Matthews (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

), and

(

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

). On May 6, 2016, Ifedi signed a four-year deal worth $8.27 million overall with a $4.2 million signing bonus. Ifedi made his first career start and NFL debut on October 2, 2016, against the New York Jets in Week 4 after missing September due to an ankle injury. As a rookie, he appeared in and started 13 regular season games and both of the Seahawks' playoff games. Ifedi entered his second season in 2017 as the Seahawks starting right tackle, starting in all 16 games. Ifedi led the league in penalties with 16. In the 2018 season, Ifedi appeared in and started 15 regular season games and the Seahawks' one playoff game. On May 3, 2019, the Seahawks declined the fifth-year option on Ifedi's contract, making him a free agent in 2020. In the 2019 season, he appeared in and started all 16 regular season games and both of the Seahawks' playoff games.

Chicago Bears

On April 1, 2020, Ifedi signed with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

on a one-year deal. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on November 3, 2020, and activated three days later. He started in all 16 games for the Bears in 2020, 10 at right guard and six at right tackle. On April 1, 2021, Ifedi re-signed with the Bears. He suffered a knee injury in Week 5 and 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 th ...

on October 13. He was activated on December 20. In the 2021 season, he appeared in nine games and started two.

Atlanta Falcons

On April 6, 2022, Ifedi signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons. In the 2022 season, he appeared in all 17 games for Atlanta, mainly in a

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

role. He re-signed with the team on March 22, 2023. He was released on May 16, 2023.

Detroit Lions

On May 23, 2023, Ifedi signed with 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) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

. He was released on August 27.

Buffalo Bills

On August 30, 2023, Ifedi signed with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

. He was released on December 28 and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent when his practice squad contract expired.

Cleveland Browns

On April 18, 2024, Ifedi signed with the

Personal life

Ifedi's parents are

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

immigrants. Ifedi is a member of the Pi Omicron chapter of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved in ...

. His older brother,

Martin Ifedi Martin Ndubuisi Ifedi (born September 4, 1991) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at Memphis. Professional career St. Louis Rams Ifedi was selected in the seventh round, 227th overall, by the St. Louis Ra ...

, played defensive end for the

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...

. His eldest brother, Benedict Ifedi, is a Primary Care-Sports Medicine Physician in Katy, Texas. At Texas A&M, Ifedi majored in

construction science Construction management (CM) is a professional service that uses specialized, project management techniques and software to oversee the planning, design, construction and closeout of a project. The purpose of Construction management is to control ...

. He interned with Manhattan-Vaughn Construction in 2015, the joint venture which renovated

Kyle Field Kyle Field is the American football stadium located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, United States. It has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggies football team in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a permanent con ...

References

External links

Texas A&M Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ifedi, Germain 1994 births Living people American people of Igbo descent American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Players of American football from Harris County, Texas Texas A&M Aggies football players Seattle Seahawks players Chicago Bears players Atlanta Falcons players Detroit Lions players Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players