Brian Loomis de la Puente (born May 13, 1985) 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 with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

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 2008. De la Puente has also been a member of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

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 ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

De la Puente is Jewish on his mother Carrie's side,"Jews in the News"
by Nate Bloom in Arts & Culture, Pro Football, 2011, ''Let My People Go'', September 2011 and was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. His maternal grandmother was also Jewish. His grandfather on his father's side is of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

descent. He attended San Clemente High School, where he played football, basketball, and volleyball, was on the track and field team, and was a member of the Superintendent's Honor Roll. He knows sign language, as his youngest sister is deaf. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he was a legal studies major.

Professional career

First stint with 49ers (2008)

After going undrafted in the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

, De La Puente was signed by the

as an

on May 1. He was waived during final cuts on August 30.

Kansas City Chiefs (2008–09)

De la Puente was signed by the

on August 31, 2008. He was inactive for the team's first seven games before being released on October 29. The Chiefs re-signed him to the practice squad the following day. De la Puente was re-signed to a future contract by the Chiefs on December 30, 2008. He was waived on August 24, 2009, when the team acquired offensive linemen

Andy Alleman Andrew Alleman (born November 20, 1983) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at The University of Akron. Alleman was also a member of t ...

and Ikechuku Ndukwe from the

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 pla ...

Seattle Seahawks (2009)

De la Puente was claimed off waivers by the

on August 25, 2009, after the team waived

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Grey Ruegamer Christopher Grey Ruegamer OO-gah-mer(born June 1, 1976) is a former American football center who is the director of player engagement for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State ...

. He was cut on September 5, and added to the practice squad on September 16. He was cut from the practice squad on September 22, and re-added on September 30.

Carolina Panthers (2009–10)

De la Puente was signed to the

' practice squad on November 17.

Second stint with 49ers (2010)

Brian de la Puente at 49ers training camp 2010-08-09

De la Puente signed a future contract with the San Francisco 49ers on January 22, 2010. He was waived on September 4.

Second stint with Seahawks (2010)

De la Puente was signed to the

' practice squad on September 16, 2010. He was released on September 21.

New Orleans Saints (2010–13)

De la Puente was signed to the Saints practice squad on October 15, 2010, and spent the rest of the season there. In 2011, Saints starting center Jonathan Goodwin left to join the

, and the Saints signed longtime

star

Olin Kreutz Olin George Kreutz (; born June 9, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. He played college football for University of Washington, and earned consensu ...

to replace him. De la Puente filled in effectively when Kreutz was injured early in the season, then found himself as the starter when Kreutz unexpectedly decided to retire in mid-season. De la Puente continued to play well as the Saints set offensive records for the season and the offensive line won its second

Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award The Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award was a trophy awarded annually to the best offensive line of the National Football League. The trophy, sponsored by Prilosec OTC, is named in honor of former NFL coach and commentator, John Madden. Desig ...

in three years. De la Puente continued to hold the starting center position through the 2012 season. In its 2012 season-end review, ''

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

'', calling de la Puente "the least well known player on the line", rated him as the team's highest-performing lineman in 2012. A

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

after the 2012 season, on April 9, 2013, de la Puente signed the Saints' one-year tender. He was paid $2.023 million for the 2013 season. He started 16 games for the second season in a row. Over the three seasons De La Puente started for the Saints, he received grades of +6.1 (2013), +23.0 (2012), and +6.1 (2011) from

. ''The New York Daily News'' reported that the Giants indicated interest in him in March 2014.

Chicago Bears (2014)

De la Puente was signed to a one-year deal by the

on April 6, 2014. De la Puente was placed on injured reserve on November 26 due to an ankle injury.

Washington Redskins (2015-16)

De la Puente was signed with the

on November 10, 2015. He was waived on January 5, 2016.

References

External links

*
California Golden Bears bioNew Orleans Saints bioChicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:De La Puente, Brian 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Los Angeles American football offensive guards American football centers California Golden Bears football players San Francisco 49ers players Kansas City Chiefs players Seattle Seahawks players Carolina Panthers players New Orleans Saints players Chicago Bears players Washington Redskins players Jewish American sportspeople American sportspeople of Mexican descent 21st-century American Jews