Tyler Polumbus (born April 10, 1985) 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 ...

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 was signed by 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 ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2008. 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 ...

at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

. In addition to the Broncos, Polumbus was also a member of 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 ...

, Seattle Seahawks,

Washington Commanders 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) East division ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

Polumbus played

for Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. He was named a SuperPrep All-American in 2002.

College career

From 2003 to 2007, Polumbus played for the University of Colorado. After his senior year, league coaches named Polumbus All-Big 12 second team.

Professional career

Denver Broncos (first stint)

On April 29, 2008, the

signed Polumbus as an undrafted free agent. He made his NFL debut in Week 1 against 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 ...

. He finished the 2008 season playing in all 16 games as a backup lineman. Polumbus had his first career start in Week 9 of the 2009 season 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 ...

. By the end of the season, he had played in 15 games and started eight of them. Polumbus was waived by the team on August 24, 2010. In 2024, Polumbus shared that the Seattle Seahawks and

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 ...

were interested in trading for him, but coach Josh McDaniels chose to forego the trade offers and waive him out of spite. Seattle would end up trading for him a few days later after he was claimed by Detroit.

Detroit Lions

Polumbus was claimed off waivers by the

on August 25, 2010.

Seattle Seahawks

On August 31, 2010, the Lions traded Polumbus to the Seattle Seahawks for an undisclosed draft pick. He started at left tackle his first two games in place of injured Russell Okung. He played in 15 games, starting 7 of them, by the end of the 2010 season. After playing five games in the 2011 season, the Seahawks waived him on October 25, 2011.

Washington Redskins

On November 9, 2011, 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 ...

signed Polumbus to the 53-man roster. In Week 11 against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, Polumbus would start as the left guard subbing in for Maurice Hurt. Polumbus would unexpectedly start as the right tackle in Week 15 after Jammal Brown suffered a groin injury during pre-game warmups. At the end of the 2011 season, he played a total of five games, starting four of them. During 2012 training camp, Polumbus split snaps at right tackle with Maurice Hurt and Willie Smith after Jammal Brown was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. After starting at right tackle during the first three preseason games, he was officially announced as the starting right tackle for the opening of the 2012 season after Brown had hip surgery on August 27. On October 26, Polumbus was fined $7,875 for a leg whip in Week 7. In Week 15 against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, he was forced to leave the game early after suffering a concussion. He would miss the next game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

due to this concussion. Set to become a free agent in the 2013 season, Polumbus agreed to a new two-year contract with the Redskins on March 18, 2013. Polumbus began the 2014 season as the starting right offensive tackle. Before the Week 8 game against the

, it was announced by head coach Jay Gruden that Polumbus would be benched in favor of Tom Compton.

Atlanta Falcons

On May 14, 2015, the

signed Polumbus. On September 29, 2015, the Falcons released Polumbus.

Denver Broncos (second stint)

On October 1, 2015, just two days after being released by the Falcons, the Broncos signed Polumbus to a one-year deal. On February 7, 2016, Polumbus was part of the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

by a score of 24–10.

Post retirement

Polumbus currently operates a YouTube channel with 1.8k subscribers. He also co-hosts a daily radio show in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

with Scott Hastings and Darren "DMac" McKee on KKSE 92.5 from noon to 3PM.

References

External links

Official websiteColorado Buffaloes bioNFL Combine profileESPN player bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polumbus, Tyler 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Denver American football offensive tackles Colorado Buffaloes football players Denver Broncos players Detroit Lions players Seattle Seahawks players Washington Redskins players Atlanta Falcons players Cherry Creek High School alumni