Greg Joseph (born August 4, 1994) is a South African professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

for the

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 ...

of 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

Florida Atlantic Owls The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference. On October 21, 2021, Flori ...

and signed with 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 ...

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 2018. Joseph has also been a member of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

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 ...

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 ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

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 ...

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 ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Washington Commanders 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) East division ...

, and

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

Early life

Joseph was born in

Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, to Glen and Ilana Joseph. In 2001, he and his family moved to

West Boca Raton, Florida West Boca Raton, also known as West Boca, is an unincorporated community west of the city of Boca Raton, Florida. It is populated by numerous developments such as Boca Landings, The Hamptons, Mission Bay, Sandalfoot Cove, Century Village, and Lo ...

, as his family sought to leave South Africa, and his mother had family in Florida. Joseph has two younger brothers, Marc and Dylan. He is Jewish, and says that Judaism has "absolutely" guided him during his life. Joseph played football and soccer at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

(and was named all-county and all-state) and

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

(in which he was named all-county, all-state, and

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 ...

by MaxPrep.com) at American Heritage School in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, De ...

. He decided to focus on football after recognizing that he stood a much better chance of getting a college scholarship and going pro in football than in soccer.

College career

Joseph spent five years at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

(FAU) in Boca Raton after walking onto the football team and redshirting his freshman year, and graduated in 2017 with a degree in

exercise science Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

and health promotion. Joseph graduated as the Owls' all-time leader in

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

made (57), points scored (336), points after touchdown (PATs) made (165; in 170 attempts), and field goals attempted. He also set the university's single-game records for PATs, field goals, points scored by kicking, and the Owls' longest field goal (54 yards). Joseph was named Honorable Mention All-

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

in his redshirt junior and redshirt senior seasons in 2016 and 2017, respectively. As of February 2019, Joseph was working towards finishing his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

at FAU.

College statistics

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

After going undrafted in the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

, Joseph was signed as a free agent by the

. He made all three kicks he attempted in the preseason. Joseph was released on September 1, 2018.

Cleveland Browns

Joseph was signed by the

on September 17, 2018. He replaced

Zane Gonzalez Zane Holden Fortunato Gonzalez (born May 7, 1995) is an American professional football placekicker. He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, finishing as the NCAA Division I leader in field goals made at the time prior to be ...

, who was cut from the team after missing two field goals and two extra points the previous day against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. During a Week 5 12–9 overtime victory over 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 ...

, Joseph made a game-winning 37-yard field goal in overtime. In his lone season with the Browns, Joseph made 17 of 20 field goal attempts, with a long of 51 (his three misses were beyond 40 yards), and made 25-of-29 extra points. Joseph was 4-of-4 from 20-to-29 yards, 7-of-7 from 30-to-39 yards, 5-of-7 from 40-to-49 yards and 1-of-2 from 50-plus yards.Michael Moraitis
"Titans to sign K Greg Joseph from Panthers practice squad: Report"
/ref> In 2018, he handled 69 total kickoffs and achieved a

touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling that is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to travel ...

on 68.1% of them. On August 31, 2019, Joseph was released during final roster cuts after losing the kicker job to rookie

Austin Seibert Austin Mitchell Seibert (born November 15, 1996) is an American professional football placekicker. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he was named the 2018 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year, and was selected by the ...

. Joseph was drafted in the fifth round of the fifth phase of the 2020 XFL Draft by the

Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The Sea Dragons competed in the second incarnation of the XFL (2020), XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment as the Seat ...

in October 2019, but did not sign with them.

Carolina Panthers

On November 25, 2019, Joseph was 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 ...

of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Tennessee Titans

On December 18, 2019, the

signed Joseph to a three-year contract off Carolina's practice squad, after waiving kicker

Ryan Santoso Ryan Santoso (born August 26, 1995) is an American professional American football, football placekicker. He played college football at Minnesota Golden Gophers football, Minnesota. He has been a member of the Detroit Lions, Montreal Alouettes, T ...

and placing kicker

Ryan Succop Ryan Barrow Succop ( ; born September 19, 1986) is an American former professional football placekicker. He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was the 2009 Mr. Irrelevant by virtue of being selected by the Kansas Cit ...

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 made his Titans debut four days later, kicking four extra points in a 38–28 loss to the Saints. In the next game 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 ...

, Joseph went 5-for-5 on extra points as the Titans won on the road by a score of 35–14. Joseph did not attempt a field goal until his fifth game with the Titans when he made a 30-yard kick in the first quarter of the

AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...

against 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 ...

. Joseph went 15-for-15 on extra points before his first field goal attempt. Joseph was waived by the Titans on September 3, 2020, after the team signed

Stephen Gostkowski Stephen Carroll Gostkowski ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. A member of the New England Patriots for most of his career, he is th ...

to assume kicking duties.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On September 8, 2020, Joseph signed to the practice squad of the

. He was elevated to the active roster on December 18 for the team's Week 15 game against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.

Minnesota Vikings

On February 11, 2021, Joseph signed with the

to replace a struggling Dan Bailey. During a Week 2 33–34 loss to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, Joseph missed a game-winning 37-yard field goal attempt as time expired. Three weeks later, he made a game-winning 54-yard field goal against the

. A week later, Joseph missed another game-winning field goal against the

, but the Vikings would go on to win the game in overtime. On November 21, 2021, he made his second game-winning field goal of the season, a 29-yarder against the

. During a Week 4 28–25 victory over the Saints in London in 2022, Joseph converted all five field goal attempts, including a 47-yard game-winner, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. During a Week 15 39–36 overtime victory over the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, he was able to kick a 40-yard field goal in overtime despite an attempt to

ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

him, helping the Vikings achieve the biggest comeback in NFL history. In the next game against the

, Joseph hit a 61-yard game winning field goal in a 27–24 victory, also setting a Vikings franchise record for longest made field goal. On March 14, 2023, Joseph signed a one-year contract extension with the Vikings. In the 2023 season, he converted 24 of 30 field goal attempts and 36 of 38 extra point attempts.

Green Bay Packers

On March 28, 2024, Joseph signed with the

. Joseph made the initial 53-man roster, but was released on August 28.

Detroit Lions

On September 11, 2024, Joseph was signed to the

practice squad.

New York Giants

On September 17, 2024, the

signed Joseph to their active roster from the Lions practice squad after

Graham Gano Graham Clark Gano (; born April 9, 1987) is a Scottish–American professional football placekicker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was signed by the B ...

was injured. In Week 6 against the

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

, Joseph missed two field goals in the fourth quarter, including one that would have kept them in the game with under a minute left in regulation, which resulted in a 17–7 loss. On November 7, he was waived with an injury settlement.

Washington Commanders

Joseph signed with the

' practice squad on December 13, 2024. He was elevated for the Week 15 game against the

. Joseph was released on December 23.

New York Jets

On December 24, 2024, Joseph was signed to the

practice squad. He was signed to the team's active roster on December 31, after Greg Zuerlein was placed on injured reserve. In the 2024 season, Joseph finished converting all 11 extra point attempts and 16 of 20 field goal attempts.

San Francisco 49ers

On May 19, 2025, Joseph signed with the

to a one-year-deal.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bioFAU Owls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Greg 1994 births 21st-century American Jews American football placekickers American Heritage School (Florida) alumni American people of South African-Jewish descent Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players Florida Atlantic Owls football players Green Bay Packers players Jewish American players of American football Jews from Florida Living people Miami Dolphins players Minnesota Vikings players New York Giants players New York Jets players Players of American football from Boca Raton, Florida Players of American football from Palm Beach County, Florida San Francisco 49ers players South African emigrants to the United States South African players of American football Sportspeople from Johannesburg Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Titans players Washington Commanders players