Justin Donnnell Shaffer (born June 20, 1998) 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 ...

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 ...

for 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) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of 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). 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 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Early life and high school

Shaffer grew up in

Ellenwood, Georgia Ellenwood is an unincorporated community in Clayton, Henry, Rockdale and DeKalb counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The community is a southeast suburb of Atlanta and is located along Interstate 675 and Georgia State Route 42. With a populati ...

and attended Cedar Grove High School. He was rated a three-star recruit and initially committed to play college football at Louisville during his junior year. Shaffer flipped his commitment to Georgia shortly before National Signing Day.

College career

Shaffer saw playing time as a reserve offensive lineman as a freshman and sophomore. He made his first career start as a junior against Tennessee and started the next game before suffering a season-ending neck injury. Shaffer started all of the Bulldogs' regular season games at left tackle and started in the 2021 Peach Bowl at left guard. Shaffer decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic and return to Georgia for a fifth season.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Shaffer was drafted in the sixth round with the 190th pick by the

in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. He was waived on August 30 and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023.

Personal life

Shaffer is first cousins with

DeAngelo Malone DeAngelo Malone (born July 12, 1999) is an American football outside linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Kentucky. Early life and high school Malone grew up in Ellenwood ...

who also was drafted by the Falcons in the 2022 NFL Draft.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioGeorgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaffer, Justin Living people American football offensive guards Georgia Bulldogs football players Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Falcons players 1998 births