Justin Britt (born May 29, 1991) 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who is a free agent. He was drafted 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 ...

in the second round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. 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 ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Early life

Britt attended Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Missouri. He was a good overall athlete who was a three-year letterwinner in the sports of football (offensive left tackle), wrestling (heavyweight), and track. Britt won the class 4 Missouri state heavyweight championship in wrestling as a senior in 2009, going a perfect 45–0 during the season. He placed sixth at the state wrestling championships in the heavyweight division in 2008 and was a district heavyweight champion in 2008 and 2009, adding to a trio of conference titles he won in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

College career

Britt played football for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

from 2010 to 2013, after being redshirted for the 2009 season. He spent 2010 as a second string guard, before being promoted to starting left tackle for the 2011 season, starting all 13 games. He continued to be a starter in the offensive line for the remaining two seasons of his Missouri career, playing at both left and right tackle.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

The

selected Britt in the second round (64th overall) of the

. Britt won the right tackle job in training camp in 2014, and started there in the opening game of the season against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. Britt would start all 16 regular season games at right tackle for the Seattle Seahawks, as well as their divisional round playoff game 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 ...

, before missing the NFC Championship game with an injury. He was one of the worst pass blocking tackles in the NFL as a rookie, according to PFF. The Seahawks finished the season with a 12-4 record for an

NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinal ...

pennant, but lost to 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 ...

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

. After a poor showing at right tackle in the first preseason game of the 2015 season, Britt was asked to change from RT to LG. Britt was among the least effective pass blocking guards in football to start the season, but showed improvement. After being ranked 49th in pass protection, during weeks 5–10 he was ranked 33rd and weeks 11–13 he was ranked 27th. His run blocking became better as well. He started all 16 games at right guard. In the 2016 offseason the Seahawks moved Britt again, this time to center.

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC Troja ...

stated that they had this move in mind when they first drafted him in 2014. For his efforts in the 2016 season, Britt earned recognition as a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

alternate at center. On August 17, 2017, Britt signed a three-year, $27 million contract extension with the Seahawks. On November 12, 2018 during the Seahawks' week 10 matchup in Los Angeles, Britt engaged in a large altercation with

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh, where he received unanimous All-American honors, and w ...

causing both benches to clear. Following the game, Donald and Britt continued to throw punches at one another. Britt would be fined $20,000 for his part in the altercation. On October 29, 2019, Britt was placed on injured reserve with a serious knee injury. Britt was released by the Seahawks on April 27, 2020. The

had Britt in for a tryout on September 7, 2020. On January 21, 2021, Britt had a workout with 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 tea ...

, after spending the 2020 regular season as a free agent.

Houston Texans

On March 8, 2021, Britt signed with 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 ...

. He was named the Texans starting center for 2021. He was placed on injured reserve on October 30, 2021. He was activated on December 4. On March 21, 2022, Britt signed a two-year contract extension with the Texans. He was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list on September 20, 2022. On March 3, 2023, the Texans released Britt.

References

External links

Missouri Tigers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britt, Justin 1991 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Missouri Tigers football players People from Lebanon, Missouri Players of American football from Missouri Seattle Seahawks players Houston Texans players Ed Block Courage Award recipients