Michael Quarshie (born 13 November 1979 in

Erlangen, Germany Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

) is a Finnish

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive tackle. Quarshie was born in Germany in 1979. After living in Germany for six years and in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

for a short period, his family moved to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. He graduated from high school and completed his mandatory military service before moving to the U.S. to study and play football. Quarshie is a member of the Finnish men's national team, which captured silver at the 2001 European Championships, and of the Finnish junior men's national team, which captured the 1997 Nordic Championship. He played for the

Helsinki Roosters The Helsinki Roosters are an American football team based in Helsinki, Finland established in 1979. The team plays in the Vaahteraliiga Maple League in Finland and their home field is the Helsinki Velodrome. History Roosters were founded in 19 ...

club, winning the Finnish Maple (Championship) Bowl in 1997, 1999, and 2000. Undrafted after his senior season, Quarshie played for the Frankfurt Galaxy the following

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

season. He was one of eight (along with fellow Finn Klaus Alinen) signed to NFL as an International Practice Squad member. Quarshie was able to practice with the Raiders and play in pre-season games as an extra training squad member. He was then signed the following year with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

and played during the pre-season but spent the regular season on the

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 ...

list. Quarshie played in Finland for the

Porvoo Butchers Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the sub-region has a populati ...

during 2007 and signed as a free agent with 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 ...

on February 15, 2008.

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* American football defensive linemen Finnish players of American football Finnish people of Ghanaian descent German sportspeople of Ghanaian descent Columbia Lions football players Oakland Raiders players Saint Peter's University alumni 1979 births Living people Finnish emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Erlangen Vaahteraliiga players Finnish players of Canadian football {{defensive-lineman-1970s-stub