Nick Keizer (born May 2, 1995) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. 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 ...

Grand Valley State Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately ...

Early years

Keizer was born to a family of Latvian descent, and grew up in

Portage, Michigan Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 46,292 in the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo–Por ...

. He attended

Portage Northern High School Portage Northern High School is a high school in Portage, Michigan. Northern High School serves 1,420 students from ninth through twelfth grades. In addition to meeting the regular education needs of students living in the PNHS attendance area ...

where he played baseball and

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 ...

. As a senior, he had 19 receptions for 353 yards and three touchdowns on offense and 28 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and two sacks on defense and was named Division 2 All-State and selected to play in Michigan's East-West All Star Game.

College career

Keizer was a member of the

Grand Valley State Lakers The Grand Valley State Lakers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Grand Valley State University, located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The GVSU Lakers compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Interc ...

, redshirting as a true freshman. As a redshirt senior, Keizer was named first-team All-

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. ...

(GLIAC) after leading tight ends in the conference with 29 receptions for 504 yards and nine touchdowns. Keizer finished his collegiate career with 45 receptions for 734 yards and 11 touchdown receptions.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Keizer was signed by 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 ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He was cut at the end of training camp but was re-signed to the team's practice squad. He signed a futures deal after the season, but was released.

Kansas City Chiefs

Keizer was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

on May 31, 2019. He was waived during final roster cuts, but was re-signed to the practice squad and remained there for the rest of the season. He signed a futures contract with the team on February 4, 2020 and made the team coming out of training camp in 2020. Keizer made his NFL debut in the season opener on September 10, 2020, against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

, serving as the team's second tight end and making a tackle on special teams in a 34–20 win. Keizer re-signed to a one-year contract with the Chiefs on March 23, 2021. He announced his retirement on August 8, 2021.

References

External links

Grand Valley State Lakers profile

Kansas City Chiefs profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keizer, Nick 1995 births Living people American people of Latvian descent Players of American football from Michigan American football tight ends Grand Valley State Lakers football players Kansas City Chiefs players Baltimore Ravens players