Buck Ortega (born November 22, 1981) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He was signed by 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2006. He played college football at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

. Ortega has also been a member of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and

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

Personal life

His wife is Emily Ortega. Buck played college football at the University of Miami. At UM he played quarterback, tight end and special teams. Buck played his high school football at Gulliver Prep in Miami, Florida. At Gulliver he played with deceased former NFL Star Sean Taylor. These two future NFL players led Gulliver to the 2000 2A State Football championship. Following his time at the University of Miami, Buck played for the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, and finally the New Orleans Saints. His father, Ralph Ortega, played at the University of Florida, where he is enshrined among the hundred greatest players in that program's history as well as being selected to the hundred greatest player's in Florida High School football history after an impressive career at Coral Gables High School. Ralph was selected as the third pick in the second round of the 1975 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He also played for the Miami Dolphins.

External links

Miami Hurricanes bioNew Orleans Saints bio
1981 births Living people Players of American football from Miami American football tight ends Miami Hurricanes football players Washington Redskins players Cleveland Browns players Miami Dolphins players New Orleans Saints players Gulliver Preparatory School alumni {{Tightend-1980s-stub