Jordan Kunaszyk (born October 15, 1996) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for 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 Conference ( ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

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and signed with 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 ...

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 2019.

Early life and high school

Kunaszyk was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

and grew up in nearby Roseville, where he attended Roseville High School and played football. In his first year of varsity football, Kunaszyk notched 77 tackles (nine for loss), three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries and was named second-team All- Sierra Foothill League and was named first-team all league as a senior after recording 101 tackles (21 for loss), 2.0 sacks, one interception and a forced fumble.

College career

Kunaszyk began his collegiate career at American River College. He was forced to

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his true freshman season after breaking his wrist while playing his first snap of the year. The following season he recorded 118 tackles (the most of any California junior college player), three sacks, one forced fumble and three pass breakups and was named first-team All-Big 8 Conference, a Junior College Freshman All-American and the

CCCAA The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the Calif ...

NorCal Division Defensive Player of the Year. Following the season he committed to transfer to

for the final three seasons of his NCAA eligibility over offers from Colorado, Iowa State, UNLV and Fresno State. In his first season with the Bears, Kunaszyk made 51 tackles as a reserve linebacker. As a redshirt junior, he tallied 74 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery despite missing three games to injury. In his final season, Kunaszyk made 148 tackles (11 for loss), four sacks and five forced fumbles with three pass breakups and an interception and was named first-team All-

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

and second-team All-America by ''

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''.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Kunaszyk signed with the

as an

on April 27, 2019. He made his NFL debut on September 12, 2019, against 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 ...

, playing 15 snaps on special teams. Kunaszyk played in nine games, recording seven tackles. Kunaszyk was waived on September 5, 2020.

Washington Football Team

Kunaszyk signed with the practice squad of the Washington Football Team on September 26, 2020. He was elevated to the active roster on November 14 and 21 for the team's weeks 10 and 11 games against 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 ...

and

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) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. Kunaszyk was signed to the active roster on November 25, 2020. He was released on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the following day. Kunaszyk signed with the active roster on October 5, 2021. On January 8, 2022, Kunaszyk was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list and officially ruled out of the last game of 2021 regular season. On May 16, 2022, Kunaszyk was released.

Cleveland Browns

On August 9, 2022, Kunaszyk signed with the

. He was released on September 5, 2022, and re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on September 6, 2022. He was promoted to the active roster on September 21. He played in 15 games with two starts, recording a career-high 22 tackles. On February 14, 2023, Kunaszyk was released by the Browns. He was re-signed on March 20, 2023. He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2023. He was activated on November 25.

References

External links

*
Cleveland Browns bioCalifornia Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunaszyk, Jordan 1996 births Living people American football linebackers American River Beavers football players California Golden Bears football players Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Sportspeople from Roseville, California Players of American football from Placer County, California Washington Football Team players