Lamont Rockarius Gaillard (born February 8, 1996) 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 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 ...

, and was drafted by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in the sixth round of the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

Early life and high school

Gaillard was born and grew up in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

and attended

Pine Forest High School Pine Forest High School is a high school in Pensacola, Florida. It was opened in 1975, with the first day of class being 10 November '75. Pine Forest High is located on Longleaf Drive in a cluster of education buildings. Athletics Pine Fores ...

. He played

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 Trojans and was named first-team All-Mid-South 4-A Conference as a junior after making 100 tackles with four sacks. He was rated a four-star prospect by most recruiting services and committed to play college football at

going into his senior year. As a senior Gaillard participated in the 2014

Under Armour All-America Game The Under Armour High School All-America Game is a high school football all-star game typically held in early January in the U.S. state of Florida created to spotlight the nation’s top high school seniors. The game was first played on January 5, ...

College career

Gaillard spent five total seasons as a member of the

Georgia Bulldogs football The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Div ...

team, redshirting his true freshman season. He was moved from defensive line to offensive line during his redshirt year and appeared in two games at right guard in his first season of play. He started all 13 of the Bulldogs games as a redshirt sophomore before moving to center before the 2017 season. He started every game for Georgia at center in each of his final two seasons. After the end of his redshirt senior season, Gaillard was invited to play in the 2019 East–West Shrine Game.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Gaillard was drafted by the

in the sixth round (179th overall) in the

. The Cardinals acquired this selection from the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

in exchange for the rights to head coach

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the he ...

. He signed a rookie contract with the team on May 9, 2019. Gaillard spent his rookie season on the 53-man roster but did not appear in any regular season games. Gaillard made his NFL debut on September 13, 2020 in the season opener against 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 ...

when he took over at center following an injury to starter

Mason Cole Mason Cole (born March 28, 1996) is an American football center for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2018 NFL ...

. Gaillard made his first career start the following week against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

on September 20, 2020. He took a leave of absence from the Cardinals after the birth of his daughter, and the team received a roster exemption for him on December 21, 2020; he returned to the team on December 28. He was waived on July 21, 2021.

Cincinnati Bengals

On July 22, 2021, Lamont was claimed off waivers 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 ...

. He was waived on August 22, 2021. He re-signed with the team's practice squad on September 21, 2021. On February 15, 2022, Lamont signed a reserve/future contract. He was waived on August 30, 2022.

Miami Dolphins

On November 2, 2022, Gaillard was signed to the

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

practice squad. He was released on December 20.

References

External links

Georgia Bulldogs bioArizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaillard, Lamont 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Fayetteville, North Carolina American football centers Georgia Bulldogs football players Arizona Cardinals players Cincinnati Bengals players Miami Dolphins players