Matt Feiler (born July 7, 1992) 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 wi ...
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
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) South division. The cl ...
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 at
Bloomsburg (PA).
College career
Feiler played college football at Bloomsburg University. He began his freshman year in 2010 as an
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 in ...
and played in 11 games his first season with the
Huskies
Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...
. Before his sophomore season in 2012, he was moved to
offensive tackle. Throughout his collegiate career, he started every game and also played in the 2014 East/West Shrine Game.
Professional career
Houston Texans
2014
Feiler went undrafted in the
2014 NFL Draft, but accepted an invitation to attend rookie minicamp with the
Houston Texans on a tryout basis. On May 16, 2014, the
Houston Texans signed Feiler to a three-year,
$1.54 million
contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
that includes a
signing bonus of $5,000.
Throughout training camp, Feiler competed against
Tyson Clabo
Tyson Clabo (born October 17, 1981) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Wake Forest.
Clabo is the nephew of retired NFL punter N ...
, Anthony Dima,
Bryan Witzmann, and
Will Yeatman for a roster spot as a backup offensive tackle. On August 30, 2014, the Houston Texans waived Feiler as part of their final roster cuts, but subsequently signed him to their practice squad the following day. On December 31, 2014, the Houston Texans signed Feiler to a two-year, $1.11 million reserve/futures contract that included a signing bonus of $5,000.
2015
During training camp, Feiler competed for a roster spot as a backup offensive lineman against
Bryan Witzmann,
Will Yeatman, and
Kendall Lamm.
On September 4, 2015, he was released by the Texans.
Pittsburgh Steelers
On September 7, 2015, Feiler was claimed off waivers by the
Pittsburgh Steelers and signed to their practice squad.
2016
During training camp, Feiler competed for a roster spot as a backup offensive tackle against Ryan Harris and
Jerald Hawkins
Jerald Hawkins (born October 16, 1993) is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Louisiana State University. He was dra ...
. On September 3, 2016, Feiler was released by the Steelers as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. On October 8, 2016, he was promoted to the Steelers' active roster after
Ryan Harris was placed on injured-reserve. On October 17, 2016, he was released by the Steelers and was re-signed back to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers on January 24, 2017.
2017
He entered training camp in competing with
Jerald Hawkins
Jerald Hawkins (born October 16, 1993) is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Louisiana State University. He was dra ...
,
Chris Hubbard,
Brian Mihalik,
Keavon Milton, and
Jake Rodgers for a backup offensive tackle position. After losing the backup offensive tackle positions to Hawkins and Hubbard, Feiler was named the backup right guard to
David DeCastro
David William DeCastro (born January 11, 1990) is a former American football guard. He played college football for Stanford University, and earned unanimous All-American honors. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the first round of the 20 ...
to begin the regular season. On September 24, 2017, Feiler made his professional regular season debut as the Steelers lost 23-17 at the
Chicago Bears in Week 3. On December 31, 2017, Feiler earned his first career start during a 28-24 victory against the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
in Week 17. He played in five games and started one, his first NFL start, in Week 17 at right guard.
2018
On January 31, 2018, Feiler signed a one-year contract extension with the Steelers, who was due to become an exclusive-rights free agent. Feiler competed against B.J. Finney and Jerald Hawkins to be the primary backup offensive tackle after
Chris Hubbard departed in free agency. He was named the primary backup tackle to begin the season. He made his first start of the season in Week 3 at right tackle in place of an injured
Marcus Gilbert. He was named the starter at right tackle in Week 8, starting in nine of the final 10 games.
2019
On March 13, 2019, the Steelers traded
Marcus Gilbert to the
Arizona Cardinals, thereby creating a vacancy at the starting right tackle spot. Due to this turn of events, there was a training camp battle for the position between Feiler,
Chukwuma Okorafor
Chukwuma Okorafor (born August 8, 1997) is a Nigerian professional American football offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Michigan.
Early years
Okorafor was bo ...
,
Zach Banner
Zachery Samuel Banner (born December 25, 1993), nicknamed "The Hulk", is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. At Lakes High School, he was a two-time All-American offensive lineman. He played tackle in college foo ...
, and
Jerald Hawkins
Jerald Hawkins (born October 16, 1993) is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Louisiana State University. He was dra ...
, which Feiler ultimately won. Feiler started all 16 games during the 2019 season.
2020
On March 18, 2020, the Steelers placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Feiler. He signed the tender on June 12, 2020. He was named the Steelers starting left guard to begin the season. He started 13 games before suffering a pectoral injury in Week 14. He was placed on injured reserve on December 14, 2020. He was activated from injured reserve on January 9, 2021.
Los Angeles Chargers
On March 17, 2021, Feiler signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers. He was named the starting left guard, and started every game for two seasons.
On March 15, 2023, Feiler was released by the Chargers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On April 17, 2023, Feiler was signed by 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) South division. The cl ...
.
Personal life
Feiler was born in Strasburg, Pennsylvania to Mark and Beth Feiler. He attended Lampeter-Strasburg High School and played defensive tackle and offensive lineman throughout high school. He graduated in 2014 with a degree in history from Bloomsburg University.
Feiler married Julie Carpenter of Bloomsburg, PA on March 17, 2018.
References
External links
Bloomsburg Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feilet, Matt
Living people
1992 births
American football offensive linemen
Bloomsburg Huskies football players
Players of American football from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
People from Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Los Angeles Chargers players
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Houston Texans players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players