Matthew Ioannidis ( ; born January 11, 1994) 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 ...

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

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

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 ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and was drafted by the

Washington Redskins 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) N ...

in the fifth round of 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 ...

Early years

Ioannidis grew up in the Ringoes section of

Raritan Township, New Jersey Raritan Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 22,185, reflecting an increase of 2,376 (+12 ...

and attended

Hunterdon Central Regional High School Hunterdon Central Regional High School is a comprehensive, four-year public high school, and regional school district that serves students from five municipalities in east central Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. Students hail from ...

. The middle of three boys, Matt and his brothers Andrew and Kevin, grew up playing football, basketball, and lacrosse.

College career

Ioannidis attended and played college football at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

from 2012 to 2015.

Statistics

Professional career

NFL predraft

Bears at Redskins 2019 Matt Ioannidis (48794033718)

Washington Redskins / Football Team

Ioannidis was selected by the

in the fifth round, 152nd overall, in the

. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Redskins, but re-signed with their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

a day later. He was promoted to the active roster after

Kedric Golston Kedric Golston (born May 30, 1983) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Georgia. Early life Golston a ...

was placed on injured reserve. Ioannidis made his NFL debut on September 25, 2016, in a 29–27 win against the

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

. He appeared in ten games during his rookie season, making seven tackles. In 2018, Ioannidis played in 14 games with nine starts, recording 31 combined tackles, a forced fumble, and 7.5 sacks, which finished third on the team. On April 18, 2019, Ioannidis signed a three-year, $21.75 million contract extension with the team. Ioannidis finished the 2019 season setting new career highs with 64 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and one pass deflection. Ioannidis tore his biceps in the Week 3 2020 season game 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 ( ...

and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He finished the 2020 season with seven tackles and 1.5 sacks over three games. He tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in November 2020 and was placed on the team's COVID-19 reserve list until recovering and being placed back on injured reserve later that month. On December 15, 2021, Ioannidis was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, but reactivated five days later. Ioannidis was released on March 16, 2022.

Carolina Panthers

On March 18, 2022, Ioannidis signed with the

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bioTemple Owls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ioannidis, Matt 1994 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles American people of Greek descent Hunterdon Central Regional High School alumni People from East Amwell Township, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Hunterdon County, New Jersey Temple Owls football players Washington Football Team players Washington Redskins players Carolina Panthers players