Max Garcia (born November 9, 1991) 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 was a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where he was recognized as second-team

All-SEC The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * ...

in 2014. He was selected 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 ...

in the fourth round, 133rd overall, in the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

Early life

Garcia was named honorable mention Class 5A All-Georgia his senior year at

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also the ...

. He also competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

events. Garcia traveled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the summer of 2009 to compete in World Track meet.

College career

Garcia originally attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

before transferring to the University of Florida. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2012 due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

transfer rules, and started 12 games at

left 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 ...

for Maryland in 2011. Garcia started 37-of-39 games played at the University of Florida and the University of Maryland, earning starts at left tackle,

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 ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He was voted second-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

(SEC) as a senior at Florida after starting all 13 games at center for the Gators following an offseason transition from left tackle and left guard. Garcia graded out to more than 97 percent in his 757 snaps played, and was on the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College Football Awards ...

(nation’s top center) watch list. He was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week on two occasions. Garcia started all 12 games and saw action at both left tackle and left guard in his first year competing with the Gators, and anchored the offensive line after being the only starter to not miss time due to injury. Garcia played in the 2015

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

and Medal of Honor Bowl following his collegiate career.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

2015 season

Garcia was selected by the Broncos in the fourth round, 133rd overall, in the

. Garcia appeared in all 16 regular-season games (5 starts) and all three postseason games, seeing time at both guard positions. He made his NFL debut vs. the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

on September 13, 2015. Garcia made his first start at left guard vs. the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

on November 29, 2015, seeing action in all 79 offensive snaps at both guard spots. On February 7, 2016, Garcia was part of the Broncos team that won

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. In the game, the Broncos defeated 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 ...

by a score of 24–10.

2016 season

Garcia was named the starting

for the 2016 season by head coach

Gary Kubiak Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback for the Denver Broncos before coaching, serving as head coach for the Houst ...

. Garcia started all 16 games and played every offensive snap. He allowed just three sacks in 16 games and was called for holding just twice.

2017 season

Garcia was again named starting left guard by new head coach

Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American professional football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorad ...

for the 2017 season. He started all 16 games at left guard for the second consecutive season. He was called for holding only one time and allowed four sacks.

2018 season

After two straight seasons as a starter, Garcia was demoted to a backup role to start the season as Ronald Leary was named the starting left guard and Connor McGovern was named the starter on the right side. He started his first game of the season at right guard in Week 6 after struggles from McGovern. He was moved over to left guard the following week after Leary suffered a torn Achilles. He started the next three games there before suffering a torn ACL in practice prior to Week 11. He 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 November 20, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals (first stint)

On March 14, 2019, Garcia signed with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He was placed on the reserve/ physically unable to perform (PUP) list to start the season while recovering from knee surgery. He was activated off PUP on November 6. On March 26, 2020, Garcia was re-signed to a one-year contract by the Cardinals. On March 25, 2021, Garcia was re-signed to another one-year contract by the Cardinals.

New York Giants

On March 28, 2022, 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 ...

signed Garcia to a one-year contract. He was released on August 31, 2022 and re-signed to the

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 ...

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

On September 10, 2022, the Cardinals signed Garcia off the Giants practice squad.

New Orleans Saints

On July 25, 2023, 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 ...

signed Garcia.

Personal life

Max Garcia's father is Mexican and his mother is of Puerto Rican descent. Garcia is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Garcia majored in Family, Youth and Community Sciences at Florida.http://files.denverbroncos.com/resources/custom/Images/email_blast/2018_Denver_Broncos_Media_Guide_a.pdf

References

External links

Florida Gators bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Max 1991 births Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American sportspeople of Mexican descent Players of American football from Norcross, Georgia American football centers American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Norcross High School alumni Maryland Terrapins football players Florida Gators football players Denver Broncos players Arizona Cardinals players New York Giants players New Orleans Saints players Hispanic and Latino American players of American football