Saousoalii Poe Siavii, Jr. ( ; November 14, 1978 – January 13, 2022) was 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 ...

defensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for 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 ...

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 divi ...

, and Seattle Seahawks. He played college football at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

Early years

Siavii attended Tafuna High School. He played for one year at Dixie State Junior College, before leaving for

Butte Community College Butte College is a public community college in the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Chico and Orland, California. History After the passage of the 1960 Donahoe Act, the voters of Butte County created a local community college ...

. He played 2 seasons, receiving All-NorCal Conference honors in 2000. In 2001, he was declared ineligible and was forced to spend the year earning his degree, before transferring to the

. As a junior, he was mainly a reserve defensive tackle with only 2 starts, posting 15 tackles (2.5 for loss) and a half sack. As a senior, he was named a starter in a

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

that included Igor Olshansky, registering 43 tackles and 2 sacks. He finished his 2-year career with 58

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

(8.5 for loss), 2.5 sacks, 3 pass deflections, and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Siavii was selected by the

in the second round (36th overall) of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. He was expected to be a run stopper on the

but struggled as a rookie. He collected 12 tackles (4 for loss), one sack and 3 quarterback pressures. In 2005, his playing time was limited by a knee injury he suffered in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

. He played in 14 games, recording 15 tackles and 3 quarterback pressures. In 2006, repeated knee injuries kept Siavii on the

physically unable to perform Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

list before he was waived on September 2, 2006. He eventually needed

microfracture surgery Fracture mechanics is the field of mechanics concerned with the study of the propagation of cracks in materials. It uses methods of analytical solid mechanics to calculate the driving force on a crack and those of experimental solid mechanics t ...

on his right knee.

Dallas Cowboys

After being out of football for 2 years, he was signed as a free agent by the

on January 23, 2008. He was released on August 31. On January 12, 2009, he was re-signed. He played in 16 games registering 11 tackles. On April 8, 2010, he was re-signed by the team. He was cut on September 4, 2010.

Seattle Seahawks

On September 5, 2010, he was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Seahawks. He played in 14 games (6 starts), while setting a career-high in tackles (30), before being placed on the injured reserve list with a bruised spinal cord injury on December 23. He was released on September 4, 2011.

Legal trouble and death

On August 19, 2005, he was arrested for misdemeanor assault for his role in a bar fight in Minnesota. On August 26, 2019, he was arrested for charges related to illegal firearms in Kansas City, Missouri. On November 15, 2019, he was indicted by the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri on additional conspiracy and drug-trafficking charges; this supersedes his original indictment. On July 31, 2020, he was arrested on charges of 2nd degree burglary and a misdemeanor stealing charge. While awaiting trial at

United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (USP Leavenworth) is a medium security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Unite ...

, on January 13, 2022, Siavii was found unresponsive in his cell. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at the age of 43.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siavii, Junior 1978 births 2022 deaths People from Pago Pago Players of American football from American Samoa American football defensive tackles Utah Tech Trailblazers football players Butte Roadrunners football players Oregon Ducks football players Kansas City Chiefs players Dallas Cowboys players Seattle Seahawks players American sportspeople of Samoan descent People charged with crimes American people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention