Rollin William Putzier (December 10, 1965 – April 25, 2018) was 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 ...

player. He played

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in 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), and was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the fourth round of the 1988 NFL draft. He was also a member of 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

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, winning

Super Bowl XXIV Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

with the 49ers, and played in the

World League of American Football 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 ...

(WLAF) with the

Montreal Machine The Montreal Machine were the sole Canadian (and non-U.S.-based North American) team in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a springtime developmental professional league set up by the National Football League (NFL) that played in 1991 ...

and

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

Early life

Born and raised in

northern Idaho The Idaho panhandle—locally known as North Idaho, Northern Idaho, or simply the Panhandle—is a salient region of the U.S. state of Idaho encompassing the state's 10 northernmost counties: Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, K ...

, he graduated from Post Falls High School in 1984 and 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

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. After his senior season, Putzier was named co-team MVP with Anthony Newman. He participated in the

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

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

at the conclusion of his college career.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Putzier was drafted by the

in the fourth round (88th overall) of the 1988 NFL draft, and signed a three-year contract with the team. He was cut at the end of training camp and heard the news from a friend before the team informed him.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On September 7, 1988, Putzier was signed by the

to a one-year contract. He was cut the following day after failing a physical exam, likely due to a broken foot suffered in training camp with the Packers. He re-signed with the team on November 2, and played in five games during the latter portion of the season. Putzier was waived on July 28, 1989 after security personnel found two unloaded pistols at his training camp residence.

San Francisco 49ers

Shortly after his release from the Steelers, Putzier signed with the

. On August 29, 1989, Putzier was suspended four games by the NFL for steroid usage. He was reinstated by the league on September 26. He played in twelve regular season games, but did not make the team's playoff roster and did not participate in

, which the 49ers won. He was waived by the 49ers during final roster cuts on September 3, 1990.

Denver Broncos

Putzier spent part of the 1991 training camp with 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 ...

before being cut.

Montreal Machine (WLAF)

Putzier spent the 1991 season with the

of the

. He was drafted in the third round (26th overall) by the team. He played with the team the following year, but then the league went on hiatus.

London Monarchs (WLAF)

Putzier was drafted by the

in the 1995 WLAF draft.

Post-football life

After his football career ended, Putzier moved to

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, married, had children, divorced, and worked as a bouncer. His Super Bowl XXIV ring was stolen when Putzier was shot trying to break up a 2008 fight in the parking lot of the apartment complex he was living in. He was in the intensive care unit for three weeks after the shooting, including time spent in an induced coma and on a ventilator. He died in Huntsville on April 25, 2018, at the age of 52.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putzier, Rollin 1965 births 2018 deaths American football defensive tackles London Monarchs players Montreal Machine players Oregon Ducks football players Sportspeople from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Denver Broncos players Green Bay Packers players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Idaho San Francisco 49ers players