Christopher Clark Spencer (born March 28, 1982) 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. He was selected with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 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 NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

out of the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

by 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 ...

. He has also played for 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 ...

Early years

Spencer was born in

Madison, Mississippi Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The city of Madison, named ...

. He was part of the nationally ranked and undefeated Madison Central High School in the Madison football team in 2000, which contained 5 current NFL players. After his prep career, he was one of the most highly touted offensive line recruits in the Southeast. His home ties led him to choose the University of Mississippi, where he played alongside Madison Central teammates Doug Buckles and Mike Espy (of 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 ...

). During the 2003 season, the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

had an impressive campaign, winning 10 games concluded with a

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

victory over

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

Professional career

2005 NFL draft

Spencer was considered one of the best centers available in the

, along with Jason Brown. He was projected a late second round pick, and was eventually selected 26th overall in the first round.

Seattle Seahawks

In his first season with the

, he played 7 games. In the 2006 season, he played in all 16 games for

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, starting 13 of them, most at the

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 ...

position, next to longtime Seattle center

Robbie Tobeck Robert Lee Tobeck (; born March 6, 1970) is a former American football center who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Tobeck played seven seasons for the Seattle Seahawks after being acquired as a free agent from the A ...

. Spencer succeeded Tobeck as starting center for the 2007 season, as Tobeck had retired at the end of 2006.

Chicago Bears

On July 31, 2011, he was signed by the

to replace the outgoing

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 ...

. During the 2011 season, Spencer alternated between center and guard with

Roberto Garza Roberto Garza (born March 26, 1979) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft, and in 2005, joined the Chicago Bears, spending ten seasons with the team ...

. In Week 4 against the

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 ...

, Spencer subbed for

Lance Louis Lance Louis (born April 24, 1985) is a former American football offensive guard. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears with pick 246 in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at San Diego State. College career Louis ...

, but would himself go out of the game with a hand injury. On November 22, 2012, Spencer was named as the Bears starting guard after

Chilo Rachal Chilo Rachal (born March 15, 1986) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California. Early years He played high school fo ...

was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Tennessee Titans

On April 1, 2013, Spencer signed with the Tennessee Titans. On April 2, 2014, Spencer re-signed with the Titans on a new one-year deal.

Personal life

In 2006, he married Coastal Carolina Elite volleyball player Katherine Jensen.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Chris 1982 births Living people People from Madison, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi American football centers American football offensive guards Ole Miss Rebels football players Seattle Seahawks players Chicago Bears players Tennessee Titans players