Nicolas Angel Siragusa (born May 10, 1994) 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 ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. 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 ...

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, and was drafted 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 ...

in the fourth round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

Early years

A native of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, Siragusa attended Mater Dei High School in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

, where he only played two years of varsity football after playing baseball and basketball during his freshman and second years. Regarded as a three-star recruit by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, Siragusa was ranked as the No. 102

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in a 2012 class highlighted by

D. J. Humphries Dierrias J. Humphries Jr. (born December 28, 1993) is an American football offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida. Humphries won the 2011 Anthony Muñoz Award, ...

and

Andrus Peat Andrus Jamerson Peat (born November 4, 1993) is an American football guard for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford. As a high school senior, he was considered the best college ...

. Siragusa committed to his home-town San Diego State Aztecs over offers from Fresno State,

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

, San José State, and others.

College career

Siragusa was a four-year starter at San Diego State. On November 14, 2016, it was announced that Siragusa had accepted an invitation to appear in the

2017 Senior Bowl The 2017 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2017 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded th ...

. He attended the

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 ...

, but suffered a thumb injury on the first day of practice that sidelined him for the rest of the week and the Reese's Senior Bowl game.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

The

selected Siragusa in the fourth round (122nd overall) of the

. He was the sixth guard and eighth interior

offensive 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 ...

, as well as one of three San Diego State products (along with

Donnel Pumphrey Donnel Laray Pumphrey Jr. (born December 6, 1994) is a former American football running back. He played college football at San Diego State Aztecs football, San Diego State. Pumphrey is the official all-time leader in rushing yards in NCAA Divis ...

and

Damontae Kazee Damontae Tyron Kazee (born June 5, 1993) is an American football safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He played college footb ...

) selected in 2017. On May 5, 2017, the Ravens signed Siragusa to a four-year, $3.02 million contract, including a $628,379

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. However, during a

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

practice on August 1, Siragusa tore his ACL,

MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...

, and PCL. He 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 ...

on September 1, 2017, ending his rookie season before it began. On September 1, 2018, the Ravens waived Siragusa during final roster cuts and resigned him to the

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, ...

the next day.

Green Bay Packers

On December 12, 2018, the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

signed Siragusa off the Ravens' practice squad and added him to their active roster after placing

Byron Bell Byron Michael Bell (born January 17, 1989) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at New Mexico, and was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Early years Bell attended Greenv ...

on injured reserve. He was waived on April 29, 2019.

Indianapolis Colts

On June 4, 2019, Siragusa signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He was waived on July 24, 2019.

Buffalo Bills

On August 1, 2019, Siragusa signed with the

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

, but was waived nine days later.

Los Angeles Wildcats

Siragusa was drafted by the

Los Angeles Wildcats Los Angeles Wildcats is a name shared by several American football teams from Los Angeles: *Los Angeles Wildcats (AFL) The Los Angeles Wildcats (also reported in various media as Pacific Coast Wildcats, Los Angeles Wilson Wildcats and Wilson's ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

in the 6th round in phase two of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Personal life

Despite his surname and the team that drafted him, Nico is not related to former Ravens defensive tackle

Tony Siragusa Anthony Siragusa Sr. (May 14, 1967 – June 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Goose", was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 12 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football L ...

. His parents are Ramon and Dianne Siragusa. Following that he had a older sister named Angel but she later died.

References

External links

*
San Diego State Aztecs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siragusa, Nico 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Chula Vista, California Players of American football from San Diego County, California Players of American football from San Diego American football offensive guards San Diego State Aztecs football players Baltimore Ravens players Green Bay Packers players Indianapolis Colts players Buffalo Bills players Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL) players