Matthew Stanley Lepsis (born January 13, 1974) 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 ...

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 ...

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 was originally signed by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

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 1997 and remained with the team until his retirement following the 2007 season. 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 ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Lepsis won

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

as a member of the Broncos.

Early life

Matt Lepsis attended

Frisco High School Frisco High School is a public high school located in Frisco, Texas and is a part of the Frisco Independent School District. For the 2021-2022 school year, the school received a rating of "A" from the Texas Education Agency. History Frisco Hi ...

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...

, and was a letterman in football and track and field. In football, he was an All-Southwest selection and was named the Class 3A Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. In track and field, he was a two-time State Discus Champion.

College career

Lepsis went to the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, where he earned All-Big Eight Conference honors as a tight end.

Professional career

Lepsis was signed by the Denver Broncos as an

in 1997. He did not miss an offensive snap on a 2004 line that set a franchise record by allowing only 15 sacks, shattering the previous best of 22 sacks set in 1971, to rank third in the NFL. In Week 7 of the 2006 season, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in a 17–7 victory over 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 ...

. He once again suffered a season-ending injury, in the 2007 season. On January 1, 2008, he announced to his team that he would be retiring after his performance slipped in

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 ...

and wanted to end his career on his own term

He officially retired on February 12, 2008.

References

External links

Denver Broncos bio
1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Conroe, Texas Players of American football from Montgomery County, Texas American football tight ends American football offensive tackles Colorado Buffaloes football players Denver Broncos players Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) players 20th-century American sportsmen {{offensive-lineman-1970s-stub