Matt Joyce (born March 30, 1972 in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

) is a former American football guard and

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

in the National Football League for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. 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 the University of Richmond.

Early years

Joyce attended New York Military Academy where he practiced

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 c ...

, basketball and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. He was an All-Conference

defensive lineman 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 ...

. He accepted a scholarship from the University of Richmond, where he was a three-year starter at

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 ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Joyce was not selected in the

1994 NFL Draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Mar ...

and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, with the intention of converting him into an offensive lineman. He was waived on August 28, but after being claimed 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 ...

and not passing their physical, he was signed to the Cowboys

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, ...

Seattle Seahawks

On March 1,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, he signed as a free agent with the

and started the first 13 games at

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 ...

. He was released on August 25,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Arizona Cardinals

On December 2,

, he signed as a free agent with the

. At the end of the season, he was assigned to the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, E ...

of the World League of American Football (WLAF). The next year, he started the last 6 games at

, after missing the first 7 games with a sprained knee. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, he was a backup and special teams player. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, he started 9 games at left tackle and the last 6 at

, after

L. J. Shelton L. J. Shelton (born March 21, 1976) is a former American football offensive tackle who played 10 seasons in the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals 21st overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college ...

was moved into the starting lineup. The next year, he started 13 games at

and was inactive 3 games with a back injury.

Detroit Lions

On April 26,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he signed as a free agent with the

. He started 11 games at right tackle and one at

. The next year, he started 3 games at right tackle and 3 at

. In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, he started the last 3 games at

in place of an injured

Eric Beverly Eric Beverly (born March 28, 1974 in Cleveland, Ohio) was an American football tight end who played for the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League. He played College football, collegiately at Miami University, Miami ...

He was released on April 21,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, to make room for

Kyle Kosier Kyle Kosier (; born November 27, 1978) is a former American football guard who played in 143 games in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Arizona State U ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Matt 1972 births Living people Sportspeople from La Crosse, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Richmond Spiders football players Seattle Seahawks players Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players Scottish Claymores players New York Military Academy alumni