Zachary Jonathan Pagett Sudfeld (born April 17, 1989) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

of 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) 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 2013. 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 ...

for the

Nevada Wolf Pack The Nevada Wolf Pack are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Reno. They are part of NCAA's Division I's Mountain West Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1896 with football as the Sagebrushers in Reno, Nevada. H ...

Early life

Sudfeld attended

Modesto Christian High School Modesto Christian School is a private Christian school in Salida, California, on the outskirts of Modesto. It was formerly affiliated with the Assemblies of God;Private school directory, 2013–14, updated August 6, 2014, downloadable aPriva ...

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

. Sudfeld was named to the first-team all-state as a tight end. He also earned the first-team all-district and all-league honors in high school.

Professional career

New England Patriots

On May 3, 2013, Sudfeld signed with the

. Sudfeld's size and catching ability led at least one Patriots reporter to call Sudfeld a "baby Gronk," referring to

tight end

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the Ne ...

. During the Patriots' second preseason game, against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, Sudfeld scored on a

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion, two-point convert, or two-point attempt is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that ...

from

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

and on a 22-yard touchdown from

Ryan Mallett Ryan Michael Mallett (June 5, 1988 – June 27, 2023) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens. Mallett played college ...

. On October 3, 2013, Sudfeld was released from the Patriots, after lackluster performances, where Sudfeld made no receptions.

New York Jets

Sudfeld was claimed off waivers by the

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 ...

on October 4, 2013. He caught 5 passes for 63 yards on the season. Sudfeld suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

in minicamp and was waived on June 15, 2015. He cleared waivers a day later and was placed on the injured reserve list. On September 3, 2016, Sudfeld was released by the Jets as part of final roster cuts.

Personal life

Sudfeld is married with two kids. Sudfeld has a twin brother named Matt, who is director of strategic development of a humanitarian organization that was started by his grandparents. He also has two sisters: Juliana, who played volleyball for Wheaton College in Illinois, and Sarah, who played basketball for The King's College in New York City. His younger brother,

Nate Nate or NATE may refer to: People and fictional characters *Nate (given name) *A nickname for Nathanael *A nickname for Nathaniel Organizations *National Association for the Teaching of English, the UK subject teacher association for all aspects ...

, was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

References

External links

Nevada Wolf Pack bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudfeld, Zach 1989 births Living people American football tight ends Players of American football from Santa Cruz, California Nevada Wolf Pack football players New England Patriots players New York Jets players Modesto Christian School alumni