Jason Trusnik ( ; born June 6, 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

and special teamer in 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 Ohio Northern Polar Bears before being signed by the

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 ...

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 2007.

College career

Trusnik played

at Ohio Northern. He was twice named a Division III

All-American 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 ...

and twice named All-

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. All member institutions are located in Ohio. Formed in 1902, it is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States ...

. Additionally, he played in the Texas vs. The Nation Game for 'The Nation' team and was named a co-captain for Team United States in the Aztec Bowl.

Professional career

New York Jets

US Navy 070526-N-3235P-044 Navy Fleet Week 2007

Trusnik was signed 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 ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

by the

. As a rookie, he appeared in six games and recorded six tackles on

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 ...

after spending the first nine weeks on their practice squad. He made his NFL debut in a game against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

on November 18. Trusnik was placed on injured reserve on December 26. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Trusnik played in seven games and was inactive for two. He also had spent the first seven games of the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Trusnik made five tackles and a fumble recovery on defense as well as 11 tackles on special teams. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Trusnik played in the first four games of the season with the Jets. He was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after his game against

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

on September 27, where he had two tackles, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery. Trusnik was then traded to 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 ...

Cleveland Browns

On October 7, 2009, Trusnik was traded to the

by the

in exchange for wide receiver

Braylon Edwards Braylon Jamel Edwards (born February 21, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was a unanimous All-American playing college football for the Michigan Wolver ...

. He played the remainder of the

season with the Browns, where he started 10 games and played in 12. During this time, Trusnik registered 54 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one pass defensed. His first start of his NFL career came on October 18 in a game at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Trusnik made a career-high 10 tackles on November 29 in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. The Browns finished the season with the best kickoff return average starting position (31.4) in the NFL with Trusnik as a blocker. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Trusnik played in all 16 games for the Browns, starting five. He registered 15 tackles, one sack, and one pass defensed. He played mostly on special teams where he had nine tackles.

Miami Dolphins

On July 27, 2011, 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 ...

signed Trusnik to a 2-year deal. He was with the Dolphins for four seasons, starting 10 games and playing in 64. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, Trusnik caught his first career interception from a

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

pass on December 14. He also scored his first touchdown off of a fumble recovery against the Jets on December 28.

Carolina Panthers

On March 31, 2015, 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 ...

signed Trusnik to a 1-year deal as an unrestricted free agent. On September 5, 2015, he was released by the Panthers.

Minnesota Vikings

On November 10, 2015, the

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 ...

signed Trusnik. He had previously worked with Vikings

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

, George Edwards, while he was the linebackers coach at

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

from 2012 to 2013.

New Orleans Saints

On December 14, 2016, Trusnik was signed by 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 ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Retirement

On April 10, 2018, Trusnik announced his retirement from the

.statement from Trusnik on twitter
/ref>

References

External links

Minnesota Vikings bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trusnik, Jason 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Summit County, Ohio American football linebackers Ohio Northern Polar Bears football players New York Jets players Cleveland Browns players Miami Dolphins players Carolina Panthers players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players