Nick A. Greisen ( ; born August 10, 1979) is a former

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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was drafted by 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. ...

in the fifth round of the

2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

. 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 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Greisen also played for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He is the younger brother of quarterback

Chris Greisen Christopher J. Greisen (born July 2, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played professionally the National Football League (NFL) for the Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys and current coach for West De Pere ...

and the cousin of offensive lineman

Casey Rabach Casey Edward Rabach (; born September 24, 1977) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft, and also played professionally for the Washington Redskins. He played college ...

Early years

Greisen was born and raised in

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,646 at the 2020 Census. The city is well-known regionally for being the largest city of the Door Peninsula, after which the county is na ...

. He attended

Sturgeon Bay High School Sturgeon Bay High School is a public high school located in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. It is part of the Sturgeon Bay School District. Athletics Sturgeon Bay's athletic teams are known as the Clippers, and compete primarily in the Packerland Conf ...

, where he played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and punter on the football field. Greisen was a five-sport athlete his senior year of high school.

College career

Greisen played

after being offered a scholarship at a Badger camp before his senior year of high school. After playing as a backup his freshman and sophomore years, Greisen cracked the starting lineup as a junior and led the Big Ten in tackles. He also earned All-Big Ten honors after his junior season. A team captain his senior year, he led the country in tackles and was first-team all-Big Ten.

Professional career

New York Giants

Greisen was drafted in the fifth round (152nd overall) by the

in the

. He played mostly on special teams during his first two seasons, and also made his first start in December of his rookie season when Mike Barrow was injured. He also saw significant playing time at linebacker after injuries to Barrett Green in 2004 and 2005 opened a starting position.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On April 28, 2006, the

signed Greisen to a two-year contract. The move came after Greisen could not put a deal together with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

and the Jaguars tried unsuccessfully to sign

LaVar Arrington LaVar RaShad Arrington (born June 30, 1978) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Penn State and was drafted second overall by the Washington Re ...

. During the 2006 season, he started ten games and recorded an interception. Greisen was released by the team during final preseason roster cuts in 2007.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 19, 2007, Greisen signed with the

after the team waived

Dennis Haley Dennis Haley (born February 18, 1982, in Roanoke, Virginia) is a former gridiron football linebacker. He most recently played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He was originally signed by the New York Jets of the National Football ...

. On March 13, 2008, the Ravens re-signed him to a three-year, $4 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus. Greisen's defensive playing time sharply declined in the 2008 season, and the Ravens released him on March 13, 2009 in a move that saved the team $716,000 in salary cap space.

Denver Broncos

On April 28, 2009, Greisen signed a one-year contract with the

. He spent the season 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 ...

after sustaining a knee injury in training camp. He was resigned by the team on April 29, 2010. Greisen was waived by the team on August 12, 2010 when the team signed Johnny Williams.

Omaha Nighthawks

Greisen was signed by the

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010. During their first season, the Nighthawks played their home gam ...

of the United Football League on September 8, 2010. He spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons with the organization.

Personal life

Greisen appeared on ElimiDate during his playing career in New York. Greisen is married, and obtained an MBA degree from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

after his playing career ended. With that MBA, he signed on with Pro Financial Services as a sports insurance specialist.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsJacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greisen, Nick 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Wisconsin American football linebackers Wisconsin Badgers football players New York Giants players Jacksonville Jaguars players Baltimore Ravens players Denver Broncos players Omaha Nighthawks players People from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Kellogg School of Management alumni