Joseph Matthew Gaziano (born September 27, 1996) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Northwestern.
Personal information | |||||||
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Born: | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | September 27, 1996||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 280 lb (127 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Xaverian Brothers (Westwood, Massachusetts) | ||||||
College: | Northwestern | ||||||
Position: | Defensive end | ||||||
Undrafted: | 2020 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Gaziano grew up in Scituate, Massachusetts and attended Xaverian Brothers High School, where he played football and lacrosse.[1] He was named the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior after recording 21 tackles for loss and 16 sacks.[2]
Gaziano was a member of the Northwestern Wildcats for five seasons, redshirting his true freshman year.[3] He finished his collegiate career with school records of 30 sacks and 10 forced fumbles and second all-time with 48.5 tackles for loss with 153 total tackles, four fumbles recovered, 15 passes defended and a blocked kick in 52 games played.[4]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 4+1⁄4 in (1.94 m) |
282 lb (128 kg) |
32+5⁄8 in (0.83 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
5.10 s | 1.68 s | 2.85 s | 4.61 s | 7.50 s | 32.5 in (0.83 m) |
9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) |
25 reps | |
All values from Pro Day[5] |
Gaziano was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent on April 25, 2020.[6] He was waived at the end of training camp during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020,[7] and signed to the practice squad on September 10, 2020.[8] He was elevated to the active roster on October 12 and December 26 for the team's weeks 5 and 16 games against the New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[9][10] On January 1, 2021, Gaziano was signed to the active roster.[11]
On August 31, 2021, Gaziano was waived by the Chargers and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[12][13] He was activated for the Chargers' week 2 game against the Cowboys. He was signed to the active roster on October 1.[14]
On August 30, 2022, Gaziano was waived by the Chargers and signed to the practice squad the next day.[15][16] He was promoted to the active roster on November 19.[17] He was placed on injured reserve on December 21.[18]
On March 27, 2023, Gaziano signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons.[19]