Quinton Lamar Spain (born August 7, 1991) 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 ...

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 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 ...

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and was signed by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

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 2015.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

2015

Spain signed with the

as an undrafted free agent following 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 ...

. He made the Titans final roster as a rookie, playing in seven games with six starts at guard. The Titans finished with a league-worst 3–13 record.

2016

Spain won the starting left guard spot and started 13 games, missing three due to injury. The 2016 Titans

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

was heralded as one of the best in the league, which blocked for DeMarco Murray as he led the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC) in rushing yards. The Titans finished with a 9–7 record.

2017

Spain started the 2017 season as the Titans' starting left guard. He started 14 games for the Titans and missed two, who finished with another 9–7 record and qualified for the playoffs. Spain started his first two postseason contests, playing in the Titans' upset comeback 22–21 road victory over the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, blocking for Derrick Henry as he accounted for a then-franchise record 191 total yards, and then the Titans' 35–14 road uloss to 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 ...

in the Divisional Round.

2018

In the 2018 offseason, the Titans placed a tender on Spain, who was a restricted free agent. Spain signed his one-year tender on April 3, 2018. He started 15 games at left guard in 2018, missing the Titans Week 7 London Game against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

as the Titans finished with another 9–7 record. Spain notably blocked for Derrick Henry as he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for December.

Buffalo Bills

2019

On April 3, 2019, Spain signed a one-year contract with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. During the 2019 season, Spain would start in all 16 games for the Bills, playing every offensive snap, committing only four penalties and not allowing a single sack. The Bills finished with a 10–6 record, qualifying for the playoffs. In the Wild Card Round against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Spain started at left guard as the Bills lost in overtime by a score of 22–19 despite a 16–0 halftime lead.

2020

On March 17, 2020, Spain signed a three-year, $15 million contract extension with the Bills. He started the first two games at left guard before being benched in favor of Cody Ford and Brian Winters. Spain was released on October 21, 2020.

Cincinnati Bengals

2020

On October 30, 2020, Spain was 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 ...

of the

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

. He was elevated to the active roster on October 31, November 14, and November 21 for the team's Weeks 8, 10, and 11 games against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, and Washington Football Team, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. Spain was signed to the active roster on November 23, after starting the previous two games.

2021

Spain re-signed on a one-year contract with the Bengals on March 30, 2021. Spain was the starting left guard for Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI, where, on what would prove to be the Bengals' final offensive play of the game, Spain missed the block on

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

defensive tackle Aaron Donald, allowing him to nearly sack quarterback Joe Burrow, forcing a last ditch pass to Samaje Perine which would fall short, resulting in a Bengals 23–20 loss. After the of the game, Spain received a substantial amount of backlash across social media platforms.

Personal life

Spain has hosted a Football Skills Camp the last three years in his hometown of

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

. During his camp on July 1, 2017, Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham gave Spain a proclamation and officially declared it Quinton Spain Day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spain, Quinton 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Petersburg, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football offensive guards West Virginia Mountaineers football players Tennessee Titans players Buffalo Bills players Cincinnati Bengals players