Penei Sewell ( ; born October 9, 2000) is an American Samoan 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 ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

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 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

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

, winning the Outland and

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...

trophies in 2019. Sewell was selected with the seventh overall pick in the first round by the Lions in the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

. He earned

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selections from 2022 to 2024 and was a first-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

in 2023 and 2024. He is the brother of Nephi and Noah Sewell, who both have also played professional football.

Early life

Sewell was born on October 9, 2000, in Malaeimi, a village in

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

near the capital of

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...

. As a child, he began playing

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 ...

alongside his three brothers after his father Gabriel became a coach of the sport. Seeing the potential for his children to make it to the

(NFL), Gabriel moved his family to

St. George, Utah St. George or Saint George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The cit ...

in 2012. There, Sewell attended and played football at Desert Hills High School. As a senior in 2017, he played in the US Army All-American and Polynesian Bowls before committing to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

to play

for the

College career

Sewell became an immediate starter during his freshman year for the Ducks in 2018, starting seven games but missing six due to a

high ankle sprain A high ankle sprain, also known as a syndesmotic ankle sprain (SAS), is a sprain of the syndesmotic ligaments that connect the tibia and fibula in the lower leg, thereby creating a mortise and tenon joint for the ankle. High ankle sprains are desc ...

. He returned in 2019 and won the

Morris Trophy Coaches of the Pac-12 Conference bestow the following awards at the end of each football season. The conference was founded in its current form as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, but traces its roots to the Pacific Coast C ...

and

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best 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 g ...

. In addition, he and former Alabama quarterback

Tua Tagovailoa Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa ( ; born March 2, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide ...

were selected as co-recipients of the 2019 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award. Sewell opted out of the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and declared for the

Professional career

Regarded as one of the best overall prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft, Sewell was selected seventh overall by the

. He tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in May 2021 and had to sit out of

minicamp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

. He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $24.1 million, the same month. As a rookie, he appeared and started in 16 games, only being inactive for the regular season finale. He was named to the 2021

Pro Football Writers Association The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...

All-Rookie Team. In Week 14 of the 2022 season, Sewell had a nine-yard reception late in the fourth quarter to give the Lions a crucial first down in the 34–23 victory over 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 ...

. In the 2022 season, he started all 17 games and was named a

alternate. In 2023, Sewell started all 17 games and was selected to his second Pro Bowl and first First-team

, and played in the

NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

with the Lions, where they lost 34–31. He was ranked 22nd by his fellow players on the

NFL Top 100 Players of 2024 The ''NFL Top 100'' Players of 2024 is the fourteenth season in the '' NFL Top 100.'' It premiered on July 22, 2024, and concluded on August 2, 2024. Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill Tyreek Hill (born March 1, 1994) is an American ...

. On April 24, 2024, Sewell signed a four-year, $112 million contract extension with the Lions, keeping him under contract through the 2029 season. He started all 17 games in the 2024 season. He earned first team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors for the 2024 season.

Personal life

Sewell has three brothers: Gabriel, Nephi, and

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

, who are all professional football linebackers. Gabriel plays for the Houston Roughnecks in the United Football League, Nephi plays for 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 ...

, and Noah plays for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. The brothers are nephews of former

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 ...

players Isaac Sopoaga and Richard Brown.

References

External links

*
Detroit Lions profileOregon Ducks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, Penei 2000 births 21st-century American sportsmen All-American college football players American football offensive tackles American sportspeople of Samoan descent Detroit Lions players Living people National Conference Pro Bowl players Oregon Ducks football players Pacific Islander American players of American football People from St. George, Utah People from Western District, American Samoa Players of American football from American Samoa Players of American football from Utah Sportspeople from Washington County, Utah

Early life

College career

Professional career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links