Jason Tamer Fabini (born August 25, 1974) is a former

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 in 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 ...

for the New York Jets,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

and

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 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 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at ...

. He played college football at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

Early years

Fabini attended Bishop Dwenger High School in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. He was a starter at

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 ...

and defensive tackle.

College career

Fabini accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, where he was a four-year starter at

left 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, ...

and an All-

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...

selection. In his junior season, he contributed to the school's first bowl-game invitation in 47 years. He played in 44 career games and made 43 starts. In 2009, he was inducted into the University of Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

New York Jets

Fabini was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round (111th overall) of the

. He became a starter 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, ...

as a rookie under head coach

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

. In 1999, he started 9 games (8 at right tackle and one at left tackle) and was lost for the season after suffering a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

, in the ninth game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. In 2000, he became the starter at

and helped 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 ...

tie a league low 20 sacks allowed on the season. He remained in that role and didn't miss a game for the next 4 seasons. In 2005, he was moved to

after struggling on the left side. He started 9 games before he was placed on the

injured reserve list 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 ...

with a torn chest muscle. On February 22, he was released for salary cap reasons.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 18, 2006, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

by the

, reuniting him with his former Jets head coach

. Although he had the inside track for the starting

job, he was passed on the depth chart by Marc Colombo and relegated to

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 ...

duties. He was released on March 10, 2007.

Washington Redskins

On March 26, 2007, Fabini signed a one-year deal with the

. He replaced an injured Randy Thomas 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 ...

in the second week and went on to start in 13 games. He signed a second contract with the Redskins exactly one year later on March 26, 2008. He appeared in 7 games with 2 starts. He was not re-signed after the season.

Personal life

Fabini was in the movie ''Made'', which starred

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...

and

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as '' Rudy'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998 ...

. He played the role of Doorman #3. In 2017, he was hired as an assistant football coach at Bishop Dwenger High School.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bearcats bioJason Fabini's acting debut
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabini, Jason 1974 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Wayne, Indiana American football offensive tackles Cincinnati Bearcats football players New York Jets players Dallas Cowboys players Washington Redskins players High school football coaches in Indiana American people of Italian descent Ed Block Courage Award recipients