Tony Moeaki

Tony Moeaki
refer to caption
Moeaki with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010
No. 81, 82, 88
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1987-06-08) June 8, 1987 (age 37)
Warrenville, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High school:Wheaton Warrenville South
(Wheaton, Illinois)
College:Iowa (2005–2009)
NFL draft:2010 / round: 3 / pick: 93
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:91
Receiving yards:1,201
Receiving touchdowns:6
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Anthony Moeaki (born June 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was selected in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, and also played for the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, and Atlanta Falcons.

Early life

Anthony graduated high school at Wheaton Warrenville South High School in 2005 and was high school football teammates with fellow Iowa Hawkeye Dace Richardson. In addition to football, he was also played basketball and tennis.

College career

Moeaki played college football at the University of Iowa from 2005 to 2009.

Statistics

Receiving statistics
Year
Team
Rec
Yards
AVG
LG
TD
2005 Iowa Hawkeyes 8 112 14.0 36 0
2006 Iowa Hawkeyes 11 140 12.7 35 3
2007 Iowa Hawkeyes 14 170 12.1 52 3
2008 Iowa Hawkeyes 13 144 11.1 48 1
2009 Iowa Hawkeyes 30 387 12.9 54 4
TOTAL 76 953 12.5 54 11

Professional career

Pre-draft

Moeaki was projected to be a third or fourth round pick in the 2010 NFL draft by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the seventh tight end prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked the eighth best tight end by Bleacher Report.[1]

Pre-draft measurables
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 3 in
(1.91 m) 		245 lb
(111 kg) 		33+1⁄4 in
(0.84 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.69 s 1.60 s 2.71 s 4.42 s 7.10 s 34 in
(0.86 m)		 9 ft 5 in
(2.87 m)		 18 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2]

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Moeaki in the third round (93rd overall) of the 2010 NFL draft. The Kansas City Chiefs traded their fourth (102nd overall) and fifth round picks (144th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft to the Houston Texans in order to acquire the third round pick (93rd overall) used to draft Moeaki.[3] Moeaki was the fourth tight end drafted from a class that included Rob Gronkowski, Jermaine Gresham, and Jimmy Graham.[4]

On July 22, 2010, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Moeaki to a four-year, $2.47 million contract.[5]

He scored his first NFL touchdown in his first NFL game on Monday Night Football on September 13, 2010, on a 2-yard pass from quarterback Matt Cassel against the San Diego Chargers. Following the game against the San Francisco 49ers Moeaki received the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week award after he put up 44 receiving yards and a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab.

On September 1, 2011, Moeaki was placed on IR after suffering an injury during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, which kept him out of the 2011 NFL season.[6] He was reunited with quarterback Ricky Stanzi in 2011 when the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the 5th round.

Moeaki shared the starting role with Kevin Boss until Boss went on the IR in Week 2, when he became the primary tight end. He ended up with 33 receptions for 453 yards and a touchdown.

After fracturing his shoulder in the preseason, Moeaki was waived with an injury designation on August 31, 2013.[7] He cleared waivers and was added to the Chiefs' injured reserve list. On October 23, an injury settlement was reached and Moeaki became a free agent.[8]

Buffalo Bills

On December 4, 2013, Moeaki signed with the Buffalo Bills.[9] On August 29, 2014, Moeaki was released during the Bills' final preseason roster cutdowns.[10]

Seattle Seahawks

Moeaki with the Seahawks in 2014.

Moeaki signed with the Seattle Seahawks on November 4, 2014.[11] In his second game with the Seahawks, Moeaki scored a touchdown against his former team, the Chiefs.[12]

Atlanta Falcons

On March 19, 2015, Moeaki signed with the Atlanta Falcons.[13] On September 5, 2015, Moeaki was released by the Falcons.[14] On October 6, 2015, Moeaki was re-signed by the Falcons.[15]

Chicago Bears

On June 16, 2016, Moeaki signed with the Chicago Bears.[16] He was cut at the end of training camp on September 3, 2016.[17]

Personal life

Moeaki is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.[18]

Moeaki's father, Sione Moeaki, won a national championship as a member of Brigham Young University Rugby Team and was a Deans assistant at West Chicago Community High School.

In 2010, Moeaki's sister and former BYU basketball player, Keilani Moeaki, married former Chicago Bears running back Harvey Unga.[19][20]

References

  1. ^ Roberts, Kevin (January 26, 2010). "2010 NFL Draft: Tight End Rankings". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "NFL Player stats: Tony Moeaki". NFL.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Thorman, Chris (April 24, 2010). "2010 NFL Draft: Please Welcome Seven New Kansas City Chiefs". arrowheadpride.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  4. ^ "2010 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  5. ^ Thorman, Joel (July 22, 2010). "Tony Moeaki Gets Four-Year Deal, Chiefs Confirm Signing". arrowheadpride.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  6. ^ Thorman, Joel (October 1, 2010). "Chiefs TE Tony Moeaki Takes Home NFL Rookie Of The Week". Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  7. ^ Sessler, Marc (August 31, 2013). "Tony Moeaki waived/injured by Kansas City Chiefs". NFL.com. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  8. ^ Teicher, Adam (October 23, 2013). "Chiefs still feeling loss of Moeaki". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  9. ^ Brown, Chris (December 4, 2013). "TE Tony Moeaki signed by Bills". www.buffalobills.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  10. ^ "Tony Moeaki released from IR after reaching settlement". www.buffalobills.com. September 1, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  11. ^ Condotta, Bob (November 4, 2014). "Seahawks sign tight end Tony Moeaki, bring back Bryan Walters". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  12. ^ Rosen, Jeff (November 16, 2014). "Former Chiefs tight end Tony Moeaki scores with new team, the Seahawks". KansasCity.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  13. ^ Adams, Jay (March 19, 2015). "Falcons Continue to Add to TE Position". atlantafalcons.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  14. ^ "Falcons Reach 52 Man Roster". atlantafalcons.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  15. ^ "Falcons Place WR Hester On Short-Term IR". atlantafalcons.com. October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  16. ^ Mayer, Larry (June 16, 2016). "Bears end offseason program, sign two". www.chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  17. ^ "Tony Moeaki: Contract terminated by Bears". CBSSports.com. September 3, 2016.
  18. ^ Morehouse, Marc (July 28, 2009). "Much more to Moeaki than crutches". The Gazette. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  19. ^ "Harvey Unga gets married". Daily Herald. July 17, 2010. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  20. ^ "Keilani Unga works her way back for senior season after life-changing event". Deseret News. January 17, 2013. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013.
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