Wayne Hunter (born July 2, 1981) 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 ...

player who was an

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 ...

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). He was selected by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in the third round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. He played

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for the Hawaii Warriors after transferring from the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. Hunter also played for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

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 ...

, and

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

Early life

Hunter attended Radford High School in Honolulu, Hawai'i. After retirement, he was inducted into the Radford Hall of Fame on 15 May 2024.

College career

Hunter began his college career playing at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He later transferred to the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Hunter was selected with the 73rd overall pick in the

. He played three seasons with the Seahawks.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Hunter played one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006.

New York Jets

On March 23, 2010, Hunter signed a 1-year tender with the Jets worth about $1.2 million. Hunter came to an agreement on a four-year $15 million contract extension on July 26, 2011, with the team, replacing

Damien Woody Damien Michael Woody (born November 3, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard for the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college fo ...

. During the 2011 season finale against the

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

, Hunter was involved about an argument with

Santonio Holmes Santonio Holmes Jr. (born March 3, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and current wide receivers coach for Central State Marauders and Lady Ma ...

while the team was huddling. Holmes was benched for the game after the argument and the Jets would eventually lose the game plus miss the postseason for the first time in 3 years. On August 23, 2012, head coach

Rex Ryan Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL), and also held various coaching positions w ...

made the decision to bench Hunter for allowing too many sacks.

Austin Howard Austin Howard (born March 22, 1987) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Northern Iowa, and was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He was also a member of the Baltimore R ...

replaced Hunter at that time.

St. Louis Rams

On August 27, 2012, the Jets traded Hunter to the

for right tackle Jason Smith. On March 6, 2013, Hunter was released.

Buffalo Bills

On July 1, 2015, Hunter signed 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 ...

. Hunter was later released on July 21, 2015.

References

External links

New York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Wayne 1981 births Living people American football defensive tackles American football offensive tackles California Golden Bears football players Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players Seattle Seahawks players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Jets players St. Louis Rams players Buffalo Bills players Players of American football from Honolulu American sportspeople of Samoan descent Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Pacific Islander American players of American football