Thomas Andrew Compton (born May 10, 1989) 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the sixth round of the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. Compton has also played for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

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 ...

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 ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Early life

A native of the suburb

Rosemount, Minnesota Rosemount is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, on the southern edge of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. The population was 25,650 at the 2020 census. History Rosemount was established as a township in 1858 and incorporated ...

, Compton attended Rosemount High School, where he was a two-year starter on the offensive line and led the team to the section championship and state semifinals.

College career

At the University of South Dakota, Compton was a three-time Great West Conference selection—honorable mention in 2009 and consecutive first team selections in 2010, 2011—and 2011 GWC Offensive Lineman of the Year. After his senior season, he played at the

2012 East–West Shrine Game The 2012 East–West Shrine Game was the 87th staging of the All-star game, all-star college football exhibition game featuring NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision players and a few select invitees from CIS football, Canadian university foo ...

Professional career

Pre-draft

Compton was invited to the 2012 NFL Combine, where he was listed as the No. 9 offensive guard prospect. Projected as a fourth round selection by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', Compton was ranked as the No. 8 offensive guard available in the

Washington Redskins

Compton was selected in the sixth round of

by the

. He was the first South Dakota Coyote drafted since Chul Schwanke in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. He was officially signed by the Redskins to a four-year contract on May 6, 2012. Compton was cut on August 31, 2012, for final cuts before the start of the 2012 season. After not being claimed off waivers, he was signed to the team's practice squad the next day. On December 5, 2012, it was announced that Compton had been promoted to the Redskins 53-man roster after the Redskins placed cornerback Cedric Griffin on the suspended list. He became the starting right tackle midway through the 2014 season, after the incumbent

Tyler Polumbus Tyler Polumbus (born April 10, 1985) is an American former professional football offensive tackle. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In ...

was benched following poor performance. The Redskins re-signed Compton on February 27, 2015.

Atlanta Falcons

Compton signed with the

on March 15, 2016. In the 2016 season, Compton and the Falcons reached

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...

, where they faced 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 February 5, 2017. Compton played in ten offensive snaps in the game and appeared on special teams. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons lost 28–34 in overtime, despite having a 25-point lead.

Chicago Bears

Compton signed with the

on March 11, 2017.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 22, 2018, Compton signed with the

, re-uniting with

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans football, Mi ...

. He started 14 games at left guard, missing two with a knee injury.

New York Jets

On March 18, 2019, Compton signed with the

. After beginning the season as a backup, Compton was named the starting right guard in Week 11 following an injury to Brian Winters. He started five games before being placed on injured reserve on December 28, 2019.

San Francisco 49ers

On April 3, 2020, Compton signed a one-year contract with the

. The signing reunited Compton with San Francisco 49ers' head coach

Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta ...

, who previously was the offensive coordinator with the

and

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2020. He was activated on January 2, 2021. Compton re-signed with the 49ers on a one-year contract on April 28, 2021.

Denver Broncos

On March 17, 2022, Compton signed a one-year contract with the

. He was placed on the reserve/PUP list to start the season on August 23, 2022. He was activated on November 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 22.

Personal life

Compton played a reporter in the 2015 movie Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!. Compton is the cousin of fellow NFL player,

Will Compton William Earl Compton III (born September 19, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons (Almost ten). Compton co-hosts a podcast, ''Bussin' Wi ...

References

External links

*
South Dakota Coyotes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Tom 1989 births Living people People from Rosemount, Minnesota Sportspeople from Dakota County, Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota American football offensive tackles South Dakota Coyotes football players Washington Redskins players Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players San Francisco 49ers players Denver Broncos players