Chris Liwienski
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Chris Liwienski (born August 2, 1975) 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 ...
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 ...
. He was drafted by the
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 ...
in the seventh round of the
1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...
. 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 ...
at
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. Liwienski has also been a member of the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
,
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
,
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 ...
and Jacksonville Jaguars.


Early years

Liwienski was a three-year
letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
at Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, Michigan. He was named All-conference, All-Metro and All-State as a senior and participated in the East/West All Star Game.


College career

Liwienski was a three-year starter at
offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
for the Indiana Hoosiers. He started 36 games during four-year career, playing in 43. After redshirting in 1993, Liwienski played in 10 of 11 games in 1994. He missed only the game against
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
with a knee injury. He won his second and third letters in 1995 and 1996, respectively, and started all 11 games in 1996. As a senior in 1997 and one of the Hoosiers' five team captains, Liwienski started all 11 regular season games at left tackle. He played in Hula Bowl following senior season and was also named the Chris Dal Sasso Award winner, given annually to the Indiana offensive lineman who best exemplifies the former Hoosier lineman's qualities.


Professional career


Detroit Lions

Liwienski was originally drafted by the
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 ...
in the seventh round (207th overall) of the
1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...
.


Minnesota Vikings

He was signed by the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
and placed on the practice squad on August 21 after being mercifully released by Detroit. On November 11, Liwienski was promoted to the active roster. He saw his first NFL game action on extra point protection against the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 20. It was the only game he appeared in during his rookie season. In 1999, Liwienski spent the first 12 games of the season on Minnesota's practice squad. He was moved to Vikings' active roster for the team's December 12 contest but was inactive. He remained inactive for the rest of the regular season as well as two postseason contests. Liwienski saw his first significant playing time in 2000, appearing in 14 games and starting one. He was inactive for one game due to a knee injury. He started the season opener at
left guard In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right g ...
against the
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 ...
on September 3, which happened to also be the first career start of longtime Vikings center
Matt Birk Matthew Robert Birk (born July 23, 1976) is a former American football center who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He spent most of his professional career playing for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the Republican nom ...
. Liwienski also played in the team's Divisional Playoff game against 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 ...
and the
NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...
Championship game at the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. Liwienski became a full-time starter in 2001, participating in every snap at right tackle during the season (replacing the recently deceased
Korey Stringer Korey Damont Stringer (May 8, 1974 – August 1, 2001) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football at the Ohio State University and wa ...
) despite being expected to play left guard. He was named to ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
s All-Joe team, which recognizes unheralded players. Liwienski remained at right tackle in 2002 and once again started all 16 regular season contests. He helped the Vikings rush for a team-record 26 touchdowns on the season, and helped second-year
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
Michael Bennett post the second-best single-season rushing performance in team history with 1,296 yards. Against the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
on September 15, he helped
Moe Williams Maurece Jabari Williams (born July 26, 1974) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He formerly played for the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens. He attended the University of Kentucky. High sc ...
rush for his first 100-yard rushing game as a Viking. Upon the signing of offensive tackle
Mike Rosenthal Mike Rosenthal (born June 10, 1977) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Notre Dame, where he was an All-American. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft, and playe ...
, Liwienski was moved back to left guard in 2003 and started all 16 games at the position. He helped pave the way for a Vikings offense that ranked first in the NFL for the first time in franchise history. Liwienski paved the way for Moe Williams, Michael Bennett and
Onterrio Smith Onterrio Raymond Lloyd Smith (born December 8, 1980) is a former professional American football running back who played for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, after being kicked of ...
to each break the 100-yard mark during games in 2003. Liwienski started all 16 games at guard in 2004, helping
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at UCF and was selected ...
throw for 4,717 yards and 39 scores. He was fined $2,500 – one of nine Vikings players fined in all – for his part in a scuffle with the Chicago Bears on September 26. Battling injuries, Liwienski appeared in 15 games and started nine during the 2005 season. He had previously started every game for the Vikings from 2001–2004. With the acquisition of Steve Hutchinson from the
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 ...
, rumors persisted of Liwienski's inevitable release. The talk came to fruition on September 2, 2006 when he was released by the team he had started 74 of 94 games with since 1998.


Arizona Cardinals

Liwienski signed with the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
two days later, reuniting him with then-head coach Dennis Green, who had coached Liwienski his first four seasons in Minnesota. He went on to start six of the 16 games in which he appeared, filling in for injured starters Oliver Ross and Milford Brown early in the season before becoming the starting left guard.


Miami Dolphins

As an unrestricted
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 ...
, Liwienski was signed to a one-year contract by the Miami Dolphins on March 22, 2007. The move reunites him with Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron, who was the head coach at Indiana during Liwienski's senior season in 1997, as well as
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at UCF and was selected ...
, who played with Liwienski in Minnesota from 1999 to 2005.


Jacksonville Jaguars

Once again a free agent, Liwienski signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on July 31, 2008 after they waived
rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
Paul Smith Paul Smith or Paul Smith's may refer to: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (rock vocalist) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of ...
. Liwienski was released on August 25 after the team signed
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
Ciatrick Fason.


Post football career

After a life of football, Chris moved to Minnetonka, MN. There he enjoys relaxing with his wife and coaching his two children in various sports. Chris continues to succeed outside of football, selling orthopedic implants for
Zimmer Biomet Zimmer Biomet is a publicly traded medical device company. It was founded in 1927 to produce aluminum splints. The firm is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, where it is part of the medical devices business cluster. In 2001, Zimmer was spun off f ...
.


External links


Jacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liwienski, Chris 1975 births Living people Players of American football from Detroit Sportspeople from Sterling Heights, Michigan American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Indiana Hoosiers football players Detroit Lions players Minnesota Vikings players Arizona Cardinals players Miami Dolphins players Jacksonville Jaguars players