Domata Uluaifaasau Peko Sr (born November 27, 1984) 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 wi ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

who is a free agent. Peko was born in

Los Angeles 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 ...

and grew up in

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

and was drafted by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

in the fourth round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

College career

Peko started his college football at

College of the Canyons College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loca ...

before transferring to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

. He wore number 96 for the Spartans who were coached by

John L. Smith John Lawrence Smith (born November 15, 1948) is an American college football coach. He was the head football coach at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky, a position he held from 2016 until he was fired by the university in 2018. ...

at the time. As a senior, he made 53 tackles. One of the most memorable moments of his career was against archrival Michigan when he returned a

Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. While there, Henne became only the second true freshman st ...

fumble for a touchdown in front of a roaring crowd at Spartan Stadium. He was a sociology major.

Professional career

Peko attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and completed all of the combine drills and positional drills. On March 18, 2006, he participated at Michigan State's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only ran positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Peko was projected to be a fifth or sixth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 19th best defensive tackle prospect in the draft by

Scouts Inc. Scouts Inc. is a partner of ESPN Inc. that specializes in scouting and evaluating current and future players and teams in professional, college and high school sports. The content is provided on the ESPN television networks, ESPN Radio and ESPN in ...

and was also ranked the 21st best defensive tackle prospect by DraftScout.com.

Cincinnati Bengals

The

selected Peko in the fourth round (123rd overall) of the

. Peko was the seventh defensive tackle drafted in 2006.

2006

On July 28, 2006, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Peko to a four-year, $2.02 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $407,000. Peko entered training camp slated as a backup defensive tackle. Head coach

Marvin Lewis Marvin Ronald Lewis (born September 23, 1958) is an American football coach who is the special advisor to the head coach at Arizona State. Previously, Lewis was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL) for ...

named Peko a backup defensive tackle to start the regular season in 2006, behind

Sam Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

and John Thornton. He made his professional regular season debut in the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener at 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 t ...

and recorded two solo tackles in their 23–10 victory. On October 29, 2006, Peko collected a season-high seven combined tackles and made his first career sack during a 29–27 loss against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

in Week 8. Peko's first career sack was on Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick, as he made an eight-yard sack on Vick with teammate Justin Smith in the fourth quarter. On November 30, 2006, Peko earned his first career start after John Thornton suffered a wrist injury. He finished the Bengals' 13–7 win against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

with two combined tackles. In Week 16, Peko recorded six combined tackles and made a season-high two sacks on Broncos' quarterback

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

in the Bengals' 24–23 loss at 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 headquar ...

. He finished his rookie season in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

with 43 combined tackles (21 solo), 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles in 16 games and one start.

2007

Throughout training camp in 2007, Peko competed to be a starting defensive tackle against Michael Myers, John Thornton,

Kenderick Allen Kenderick Allen (born September 14, 1978) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in 31 NFL games from 2003 through 2006. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He was also a member of the N ...

, and

Matt Toeaina Mataifale Aigafaimeaso'o "Matt" Toeaina ( ; born October 9, 1984) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draf ...

. Head coach Marvin Lewis named Peko a starting defensive tackle to begin the 2007 NFL season. He started alongside John Thornton and defensive ends Justin Smith and

Robert Geathers Robert Lee Geathers, Jr. (born August 11, 1983) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at the University of Georgia. He was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Geathers played his e ...

In Week 8, Peko recorded three combined tackles and made his first career solo sack on Steelers' quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...

during the third quarter of the Bengals' 24-13 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. On December 15, 2007, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles and was credited with half a sack in the Bengals' 20-13 loss at 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 Nationa ...

in Week 15. He started in all 16 games in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

and recorded 52 combined tackles (36 solo), 1.5 sacks, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery.

2008

On January 2, 2008, the Cincinnati Bengals fired defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan after the defense ranked 27th in the league for total defense in 2007. On January 15, 2008, the Cincinnati Bengals named former Atlanta Falcons' defensive coordinator

Mike Zimmer Michael Zimmer (born June 5, 1956) is an American football coach for the Colorado Buffaloes. Prior to this, Zimmer was with Jackson State, both college programs being led by Deion Sanders. He previously also served as the head coach of the Minn ...

as their new defensive coordinator. Zimmer retained Peko and John Thornton as the starting defensive tackles in 2008. On July 13, 2008, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Peko to a five-year, $27.70 million contract that includes $8.50 million guaranteed. On October 12, 2008, Peko collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Bengals' 26-14 loss at 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 ...

in Week 6. Peko started in all 16 games in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and recorded a career-high 67 combined tackles (29 solo), two passes defended, and was credited with half a sack.

2009

Peko returned as a starting defensive tackle in 2009 and started alongside

Tank Johnson Terry "Tank" Johnson (born December 7, 1981) is a former American professional football defensive tackle in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2004 ...

and defensive ends Robert Geathers and Antwan Odom. In Week 4, he collected a season-high five combined tackles during a 23–20 win at 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 Conferenc ...

. On November 29, 2009, Peko made one tackle before exiting in the third quarter of the Bengals' 16–7 win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 12 due to a knee injury. On December 7, 2009, it was reported Peko had undergone

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the ...

on his knee and he was inactive for the last five games of the season (Weeks 13–17). He finished the

2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season. The preseason started ...

with 23 combined tackles (12 solo) and a pass deflection in 11 games and 11 starts. The

finished first in the

AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL ...

with a 10–6 record in 2009. On January 9, 2010, Peko started in his first career playoff game and recorded four combined tackles in their 24–14 loss to the

in the AFC Wildcard Game.

2010

Head coach Marvin Lewis named Peko the starting nose tackle in 2010, alongside defensive ends Antwan Odom and Robert Geathers. On November 25, 2010, Peko collected a season-high seven combined tackles and broke up a pass in the Bengals' 26–10 loss at the

in Week 12. Peko started in all 16 games in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and recorded 42 combined tackles (24 solo), one pass deflection, and was credited with half a sack.

2011

Head coach Marvin Lewis named Peko a starting nose tackle to start the regular season in 2011. He started alongside defensive ends Michael Johnson and Robert Geathers. In Week 3, Peko collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Bengals' 13–8 loss to the

. He started in all 16 games in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and recorded 66 combined tackles (34 solo), 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. The

finished third in the AFC North with a 9–7 record and earned a wild card berth in 2011. On January 7, 2012, Peko recorded four solo tackles in the Bengals' 31–10 loss at the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

in the AFC Wildcard Game.

2012

Peko retained his job as the starting nose tackle in 2012. In Week 6, he collected a season-high six combined tackles and broke up a pass in the Bengals' 34–24 loss at the

. On December 30, 2012, Peko tied his season-high of six combined tackles during a 23–17 win against the

in Week 17. He started in all 16 games and recorded 53 combined tackles (23 solo), three pass deflections, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. The

earned a wildcard berth with a 10–6 record in 2012. The Bengals finished the 2012, but were eliminated after a 19–13 loss at the

in the AFC Wildcard Game. Peko finished the game with four combined tackles.

2013

Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer retained Peko as the starting nose tackle in 2013. Peko started alongside defensive ends

Carlos Dunlap Carlos Dunlap (born February 28, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida where he won a National Championship in 2009. He was drafted by ...

and Michael Johnson. On December 29, 2013, Peko collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Bengals' 34–17 win against the

. He started in all 16 games and recorded 52 combined tackles (24 solo) and three sacks. The

finished atop the AFC North with an 11–5 record in 2013 and earned a playoff berth. On January 5, 2014, Peko recorded two solo tackles as the Bengals lost 27–10 to the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the AFC Wildcard Game.

2014

On January 15, 2014, the Cincinnati Bengals promoted linebackers coach Paul Guenther to defensive coordinator after

accepted the head coaching position with 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 ...

. On March 26, 2014, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Peko to a two-year, $9 million contract extension that includes $4.40 million guaranteed. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther retained Peko as the starting nose tackle. He started alongside Wallace Gilberry and Carlos Dunlap in 2014. In Week 5, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Bengals' 43–17 loss at 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 ...

. On November 16, 2014, he tied his season-high of eight combined tackles during a 27–10 win at 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 ...

in Week 11. He started in all 16 games in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and recorded 46 combined tackles (26 solo) and one sack. The

finished the season with a 10–5–1 record, but lost 10–26 in the AFC Wildcard Game at the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

2015

On October 4, 2015, Peko made two solo tackles and made a career-high two sacks on Chiefs' quarterback

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 20 ...

during a 36–21 win against the

in Week 4. The following week, he collected a season-high four combined tackles in the Bengals' 27–24 win against 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 ...

in Week 5. He started all 16 games at nose tackle in 2015 and recorded 35 combined tackles (17 solo), a career-high five sacks, and a pass deflection. The Bengals finished atop the AFC North with a 12–4 record in 2015, but were eliminated from the playoffs after losing 18–16 to the

in the AFC Wildcard Game.

2016

Peko returned as the starting nose tackle, alongside defensive ends Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap in 2016. In Week 3, he collected a season-high five combined tackles in the Bengals' 29–17 loss to the

. Peko started in all 16 games in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and recorded 37 combined tackles (17 solo) and three pass deflections. The

did not qualify for the playoffs in 2016 after finishing with a 6–9–1 record.

Denver Broncos

On March 11, 2017, the

signed Peko to a two-year, $7.50 million contract with $3.80 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1 million. Head coach

Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Denver Bronco ...

named Peko the starting nose tackle to begin the regular season, alongside defensive ends

Jared Crick Jared Verlon Crick (born August 21, 1989) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The Houston Texans selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft. College car ...

and

Derek Wolfe Derek Wolfe (born February 24, 1990) is a former American football defensive end and a current sports radio host. He played college football at the University of Cincinnati and was selected 36th overall by the Denver Broncos in the 2012 NFL ...

. On October 15, 2017, Peko collected a season-high seven combined tackles in the Broncos' 23-10 loss against 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. ...

in Week 6. On November 26, 2017, Peko made six combined tackles before exiting in the fourth quarter of the Broncos' 21-14 loss at the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

due to a sprained MCL. His injury sidelined him for the next two games (Weeks 13-14) and ended his streak of 123 consecutive starts. He started in 14 games in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and recorded 38 combined tackles (24 solo) and a sack.

Baltimore Ravens

On November 12, 2019, Peko was signed by the

Arizona Cardinals

On November 23, 2020, Peko 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 ...

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Domata's brother, Tupe Peko, also played in the NFL and went to Michigan State. Domata's cousin,

Kyle Peko Kyle Peko (born July 23, 1993) is an American football defensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cerritos College and Oregon State. Professional career Denver Broncos On Ma ...

, was his teammate on the

during the

2017 NFL season The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with Kansas City defeating defending Super Bowl LI champion New England in ...

. Domata is married to his wife Anna Peko with three children.Cincinnati Bengals Bio
/ref> Their third son Samsont Peko was born after the 2013 season.

References

External links

Bengals Player Bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peko, Domata 1984 births Living people People from Pago Pago American sportspeople of Samoan descent Players of American football from American Samoa Players of American football from Los Angeles American football defensive tackles College of the Canyons Cougars football players Michigan State Spartans football players Cincinnati Bengals players Denver Broncos players Baltimore Ravens players Arizona Cardinals players