Caleb Orobosa Benenoch (born August 2, 1994) is an

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 ...

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 ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

in the fifth round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. He has also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

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 ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Early years

Benenoch was born in Nigeria and played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(soccer) in early childhood before migrating to

Katy, Texas Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of ...

at nine. He started to play the American gridiron game by mistake as his mother signed him up for "football".

College career

Benenoch played college football for the UCLA Bruins from 2013 to 2015.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Benenoch was drafted by the

in the fifth round, 148th overall, of the

. He played in five games as a rookie, earning his first career start at the right guard position in Week 10 against the Chicago Bears in place of the injured Kevin Pamphile. In 2018, Benenoch was named the Buccaneers starting right guard, starting all 16 games. On September 10, 2019, Benenoch was released by the Buccaneers.

New England Patriots

On September 17, 2019, Benenoch signed with the

. On October 1, 2019, he was released.

Carolina Panthers

On October 1, 2019, Benenoch was claimed off waivers by the

. He was released on October 22, 2019.

Dallas Cowboys

Benenoch was signed by the

on December 1, 2019, after a season-ending injury to Connor Williams. He was released on December 14, 2019.

Detroit Lions

On December 16, 2019, Benenoch was claimed off waivers by the

. Benenoch was released by the Lions on August 23, 2020.

New England Patriots (second stint)

On September 12, 2020, Benenoch was signed to the New England Patriots practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on October 17 for the team's week 6 game against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list by the team on November 13. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 11, 2021.

Buffalo Bills

On August 4, 2021, Benenoch was signed by the Buffalo Bills. He was waived on August 15.

New Orleans Saints

On August 18, 2021, Benenoch signed with the

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 ...

. He was released on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 2.

New York Jets

On August 8, 2022, Benenoch signed with 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. On August 23, 2022, he was released.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benenoch, Caleb 1994 births Living people American football offensive tackles Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players New England Patriots players New Orleans Saints players New York Jets players Nigerian players of American football People from Katy, Texas Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas Tampa Bay Buccaneers players UCLA Bruins football players