Isaac "Ike" Boettger (born October 5, 1994) 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 Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

. 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

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

Early life

Cedar Falls High School Cedar Falls High School is a high school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. It is a part of Cedar Falls Community School District. The school principal is Jason Wedgbury. The associate principals are Rafael Benítez and Justin Urbane ...

Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city population was 40,713. Cedar Falls is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. Cedar Falls along with neighbori ...

, Boettger played

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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 ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He was lightly recruited, but impressed Iowa coaches at a junior camp despite weighing only 220 pounds. As a junior quarterback, he threw for 750 yards, 9

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, and one

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

. As a senior tight end, he had 33 receptions for 452 yards and 4 touchdowns. Boettger was a team captain in both basketball and football. Boettger was teammates with

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and NFL lineman

Ross Pierschbacher Ross Pierschbacher (born June 5, 1995) is an American professional football offensive guard. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft. College ca ...

at Cedar Falls High School.

College career

After redshirting in 2013, Boettger played four seasons at

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. He was healthy his freshman year, seeing reserve time and action as a blocking tight end. In 2015, Boettger started at

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

in the first six games in the Hawkeyes' Big Ten West championship season before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. He returned in 2016, starting all but one game at tackle, winning honorable mention all-Big Ten and Hawkeye Comeback Player of the Year honors. In 2017, Boettger started the first two games of the season, including a 24–3 win against eventual teammate

Josh Allen Joshua Patrick Allen (born May 21, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys football, Wyoming Cow ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, before missing the remainder of the season with an

achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

injury. Boettger was replaced at the right tackle position by true freshman

Tristan Wirfs Tristan Wirfs (born January 24, 1999) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and was selected in the first round ...

Professional career

Buffalo Bills (first stint)

Boettger signed with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2018. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Kansas City Chiefs

On September 2, 2018, Boettger was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

. He was waived on September 11, 2018.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On September 12, 2018, the Bills claimed Boettger off waivers from the Chiefs. He made his NFL debut on December 2, 2018 against 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 ...

. The Bills placed a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

tender on Boettger on March 17, 2021. He signed the one-year contract on April 27. Boettger’s 2021 training camp was delayed because he came down with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and missed most of the first two weeks. He was named a backup

to start the season, and then named the starting

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

in Week 8 following an injury to Jon Feliciano. He suffered a torn Achilles in Week 16 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 ...

on December 27. On March 28, 2022, the Bills re-signed Boettger to a one-year contract. He was placed on the reserve/ physically unable to perform (PUP) list to start the season on August 23, 2022. On December 19, Boettger was activated from reserve/PUP. On March 3, 2023, the Bills re-signed Boettger to a one-year contract. He was released on August 29, 2023.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 12, 2023, 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 ...

signed Boettger to their

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 ...

. He was elevated to the active roster on September 30. He was signed to the active roster on October 11. He was released on October 31, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.

Detroit Lions

On July 22, 2024, Boettger 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He was waived on August 12.

Carolina Panthers

On August 16, 2024, Boettger signed with 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 ...

. He was released on August 27.

References

External links

Iowa Hawkeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boettger, Ike 1994 births Living people American football offensive guards Buffalo Bills players Detroit Lions players Indianapolis Colts players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Kansas City Chiefs players Sportspeople from Cedar Falls, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Carolina Panthers players