Kyle Kosier (; born November 27, 1978) is a former

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 gu ...

who played in 143 games 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 major ...

(NFL) for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National F ...

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

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 divis ...

. He played college football at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the U ...

Early and personal life

Kosier was born in

Peoria, Arizona Peoria is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa and Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai counties in the U.S. state, state of Arizona. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion in the north is in Yavapai County. It is ...

, to Keith (a recycler) and Marlene Kosier, and is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, as is his mother.Kyle Kosier, G at NFL.com
/ref>Player Bio: Kyle Kosier - Arizona State University Official Athletic Site - TheSunDevils.com , Arizona State University Athletics
/ref> On discovering that

teammate Igor Olshansky was also Jewish, he said: "That's kind of cool to have a teammate share the same faith that I have". Kosier attended Cactus High School in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the late 1800s the area that is now Glendale was all deser ...

, where he was a letterman in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, and track and graduated in 1997. In

, his athleticism allowed him to play

middle 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, ...

at a bigger size than most players could. As a senior in 1996, he was named Class 4A All-State, the ''

Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'' named him to the All-Arizona Team, and KPNX-TV named him the 1996 Arizona Class 4A Defensive Player of the Year. He finished with 634 career tackles. In 2011, he became the first

player to have his jersey retired by Cactus High School.Cactus football retires first jersey — Kyle Kosier's No. 45 , VarsityXtra , eastvalleytribune.com
/ref>

College career

Kosier accepted a scholarship from

to play

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is pl ...

, but a shortage of

offensive 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 numbe ...

men made him convert to

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

freshman. The next year, he started the last two games of the season at

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gill ...

. He was a starter at right guard as a junior and at

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

as a senior, receiving honorable-mention All-Pac-10 honors.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Kosier was selected by the

in seventh round (248th overall) of the

2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

.Kyle Kosier Stats , Pro-Football-Reference.com
/ref> He played mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

as a rookie. The next year, he became a starter at both

left guard In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right ...

and right tackle. In 2003, he started 7 games at left guard, 3 at right guard and 2 at right tackle. The next year, he started 16 games rotating between

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

(10 games) and right guard (6 games).

Detroit Lions

On April 19, 2005, the

signed him as a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

to a one-year contract, reuniting with his former 49ers head coach

Steve Mariucci Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (200 ...

.War Without Death: A Year of Extreme Competition in Pro Football's NFC East - Mark Maske - Google Books
/ref> The 49ers did not match the offer and received a seventh-round draft choice (#223-

Marcus Maxwell Marcus James Maxwell (born July 8, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon. Maxwell was also a member of the ...

) from the Lions as compensation. Kosier was initially used by the team as a swing tackle, until being named the starting left guard for the last 11 games.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 11, 2006, he was signed as an

unrestricted 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 ...

by the

to a five-year, $15 million contract. Although the move was made to replace

Larry Allen Larry Christopher Allen Sr. (born November 27, 1971) is an American former football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Sonoma State and ...

at left guard, it didn't get much acknowledgment because Kosier was a relatively unknown player. He started 80 games over six seasons, missing 13 games in 2008 with a hairline fracture in his right foot and 3 with knee/ankle injuries in 2010. During the 2011 season, he was moved to right guard to help with the development of rookie right tackle

Tyron Smith Tyron Jerrar Smith (born December 12, 1990) is an American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC where he won the Morris Trophy, recognizing the best offensiv ...

, who became 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. Kosier played that year with a

plantar fascia The plantar fascia is the thick connective tissue (aponeurosis) which supports the arch on the bottom ( plantar side) of the foot. It runs from the tuberosity of the calcaneus (heel bone) forward to the heads of the metatarsal bones (the bone bet ...

injury, before suffering a torn

medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. Its primary function is to resist outwar ...

in his left knee in the last game of the regular season. Throughout his Cowboys years, he always remained an important presence in the locker room, often getting recognition for the versatility, chemistry, and stability he provided to the

. On March 19, 2012, he was released after becoming expendable with the signings of

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 ...

offensive guards Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings. In his NFL career, he played in 143 games.

References

External links

Arizona State Sun Devils bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosier, Kyle 1978 births Living people People from Peoria, Arizona Sportspeople from the Phoenix metropolitan area Players of American football from Arizona Jewish American sportspeople American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Arizona State Sun Devils football players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players San Francisco 49ers players 21st-century American Jews Ed Block Courage Award recipients