Kyle Peko (born July 23, 1993) is an American football

defensive 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 la ...

for the Las Vegas Raiders 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 ...

at Cerritos College and Oregon State.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

On May 3, 2016, Peko signed with 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 headquart ...

as an undrafted rookie free agent following the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. On September 20, he was released by the Broncos and was re-signed to the practice squad on September 22. He was promoted to the active roster on December 28. During the 2017 season, Peko was involved in multiple transactions and he was signed and released five times. On September 1, 2018, Peko was waived by the Broncos and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 11, 2018.

Buffalo Bills

On September 12, 2018, Peko was signed to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bills on December 31, 2018. On August 31, 2019, Peko was waived by the Bills and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 24, 2019. He was waived on November 2.

Indianapolis Colts

On November 4, 2019, Peko was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

, but was waived five days later and re-signed to the practice squad.

Denver Broncos (second stint)

On December 14, 2019, Peko was signed by the

off the Colts practice squad. On July 28, 2020, Peko announced he was opting out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was released after the season on February 18, 2021.

Tennessee Titans

On July 26, 2021, Peko signed with the Tennessee Titans. He was placed on injured reserve on August 26, 2021. He was released on September 6. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 13. He was promoted to the active roster on November 17.

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 22, 2022, Peko signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. He was released on August 30, 2022. He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 5, 2022. On September 13, 2022, Peko was released from the practice squad and then re-signed on October 26, 2022. On December 6, 2022, Peko signed for the Raiders' active roster.

Personal life

Kyle Peko is the younger cousin of nose tackle

Domata Peko Domata Uluaifaasau Peko Sr (born November 27, 1984) is an American football nose tackle who is a free agent. Peko was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Pago Pago, American Samoa. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by th ...

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

in and the two became teammates on the

in . In 2019 Peko's wife, Giuliana, was diagnosed with cancer, specifically stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Kyle was excused for the first day of Bills training camp. Peko later announced that her treatment was successful and she was cancer free. Peko and Giuliana have two children together.

References

External links

Denver Broncos bio

Oregon State Beavers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peko, Kyle 1993 births Living people American sportspeople of Samoan descent Sportspeople from Orange County, California People from La Habra, California Players of American football from California American football defensive tackles Oregon State Beavers football players Denver Broncos players Buffalo Bills players Indianapolis Colts players Tennessee Titans players Las Vegas Raiders players Ed Block Courage Award recipients