Max Garcia (born November 9, 1991) 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 ...

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 ...

who is a free agent. He was a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where he was recognized as second-team all-SEC in 2014. He was drafted by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

in the fourth round, 133rd overall, in the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

Early life

Garcia was named honorable mention Class 5A All-Georgia his senior year at

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also th ...

. He also competed in the shot put and discuss events. Garcia traveled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the summer of 2009 to compete in World Track meet.

College career

Garcia originally attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

before transferring to the University of Florida. He redshirted in 2012 due to NCAA transfer rules, and started 12 games at left tackle for Maryland in 2011. Garcia started 37-of-39 games played at the University of Florida and the University of Maryland, earning starts at left tackle, left guard and center. He was voted second-team All-Southeastern Conference as a senior at Florida after starting all 13 games at center for the Gators following an offseason transition from left tackle and left guard. Garcia graded out to more than 97 percent in his 757 snaps played, and was on the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...

(nation’s top center) watch list. He was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week on two occasions. Garcia started all 12 games and saw action at both left tackle and left guard in his first year competing with the Gators, and anchored the offensive line after being the only starter to not miss time due to injury. Garcia played in the 2015

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

and

Medal of Honor Bowl The Medal of Honor Bowl was an American college football all-star game played in Charleston, South Carolina, in January 2014 and 2015. The bowl was not sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Primary beneficiaries of th ...

following his collegiate career.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

2015 season

Garcia was drafted by the Broncos in the fourth round, 133rd overall, in the

. Garcia appeared in all 16 regular-season games (5 starts) and all three postseason games, seeing time at both guard positions. He made his NFL debut vs. the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

on September 13, 2015. Garcia made his first start at left guard vs. the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

on November 29, 2015, seeing action in all 79 offensive snaps at both guard spots. On February 7, 2016, Garcia was part of the Broncos team that won

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...

. In the game, the Broncos defeated 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 ...

by a score of 24–10.

2016 season

Garcia was named the starting

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 g ...

for the 2016 season by head coach

Gary Kubiak Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is a former American football coach and quarterback. He served as head coach for the NFL's Houston Texans from 2006 Houston Texans season, 2006 to 2013 Houston Texans season, 2013 and the Denver Broncos f ...

. Garcia started all 16 games and played every offensive snap. He allowed just three sacks in 16 games and was called for holding just twice.

2017 season

Garcia was again named starting left guard by new head coach

Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Denver Bronco ...

for the 2017 season. He started all 16 games at left guard for the second consecutive season. He was called for holding only one time and allowed four sacks.

2018 season

After two straight seasons as a starter, Garcia was demoted to a backup role to start the season as

Ronald Leary Ronald Leary (born April 29, 1989) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Memphis and signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He also played for the Denver Broncos. Early years Leary did n ...

was named the starting left guard and Connor McGovern was named the starter on the right side. He started his first game of the season at right guard in Week 6 after struggles from McGovern. He was moved over to left guard the following week after Leary suffered a torn Achilles. He started the next three games there before suffering a torn ACL in practice prior to Week 11. He was placed on injured reserve on November 20, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals

On March 14, 2019, Garcia signed with 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 ...

. He was placed on the reserve/PUP list to start the season while recovering from knee surgery. He was activated off PUP on November 6. On March 26, 2020, Garcia was re-signed to a one-year contract by the Cardinals. On March 25, 2021, Garcia was re-signed to another one-year contract by the Cardinals.

New York Giants

On March 28, 2022, 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. ...

signed Garcia to a one-year contract. He was released on August 31, 2022 and re-signed to the practice squad.

Arizona Cardinals (second stint))

On September 10, 2022, the

signed Garcia off the Giants practice squad.

Personal life

Max Garcia's father is Mexican and his mother is of Puerto Rican descent. Garcia is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Garcia majored in Family, Youth and Community Sciences at Florida.http://files.denverbroncos.com/resources/custom/Images/email_blast/2018_Denver_Broncos_Media_Guide_a.pdf

References

External links

*
Denver Broncos bio

Florida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Max 1991 births Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American sportspeople of Mexican descent People from Norcross, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football centers American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Norcross High School alumni Maryland Terrapins football players Florida Gators football players Denver Broncos players Arizona Cardinals players New York Giants players