Joel Reinders (born October 2, 1987) is a Canadian 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. He played university football at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

University athletics

Reinders spent four years at the

where he played on the school basketball team for two years before coming across the doorstep of Dennis McPhee, head coach of the University of Waterloo Football team. Reinders saw some UW players and they suggested he come try out for the team. Unsatisfied with the game of basketball, he moved on to become an aspiring football player. Over his last two seasons of university, he was able to develop his football skills to the point that both the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

and

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

took notice.

CFL Draft

Two days after his announced signing in Cleveland, Reinders was drafted by the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

26th overall in the 2010 CFL Draft on May 2, 2010. After a strong showing at the

CFL Evaluation Camp The CFL Combine (formerly known as the Evaluation Camp or E-Camp) is a three-day program in which athletes from Canadian universities and Canadians in the NCAA are scouted by general managers, coaches and scouts of the Canadian Football League ( ...

, Reinders was ranked as the 11th best overall Canadian prospect by the CFL E-Camp Scouting Bureau. Due to his NFL signing, his draft stock had lowered considerably and was selected in the fourth round. After being cut from the New York Giants on August 27, 2012, Reinders signed a deal with the Toronto Argonauts On August 28, 2012.

Professional career

On April 30, 2010, Reinders 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 ...

by 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 ...

after only watching a single

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video showing highlights of the eight football games that he played in. According to their website, the Cleveland Browns waived Reinders from their practice squad on September 4, 2010. On March 13, 2012 Reinders was signed by the

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 ...

. He was cut by the New York Giants on August 27, 2012. On August 28, 2012, Reinders was signed by the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. On September 17, 2013, Reinders was released by the Toronto Argonauts. On September 20, 2013 Reinders was signed as a free agent by the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

. On May 12, 2015 Reinders retired from professional football.

Personal life

Reinders is the nephew of former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

player

Wayne Van Dorp Wayne Van Dorp (born May 19, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks and Quebec Nordiques. In The Netherlands he played for Feenstra Flyers Heerenveen a ...

. Joel grew up in Oakville, Ontario, where he attended

John Knox Christian School John Knox Christian School (JKCS) is a Christian independent K-12 school in Burnaby, British Columbia. Overview John Knox Christian School has been providing Christian education in Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of Br ...

and later King's Christian Collegiate for high school, graduating in 2005, without ever playing high school football.

References

External links

Biography on the New York Giants' website

Hamilton Tiger-Cats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinders, Joel 1987 births Players of American football from Ontario American football offensive linemen Canadian football offensive linemen Cleveland Browns players Living people New York Giants players Toronto Argonauts players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario University of Waterloo alumni