Ryan Groy (born September 30, 1990) 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who is a free agent. He was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in 2014. 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 ...

College career

Groy is a Wisconsin native. He redshirted for the Badgers in 2009, and set a school record by playing all 54 games of his career. He played 13 games in 2010, starting two at fullback. In 2011, he played 14 games, starting four (three at left guard, one at center). He started all 14 games in 2012 (12 at left guard, two at left tackle), and all 13 games at left guard in 2013.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Groy was signed as an undrafted free agent to the

on May 11, 2014. He was then moved to the practice squad on September 1. On November 10, he was promoted to the active roster.

New England Patriots

On August 10, 2015, Groy was traded to 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 ...

for Matthew Wells. On September 4, 2015, Groy was waived by the Patriots with an injury designation.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On October 28, 2015, Groy was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad.

Buffalo Bills

On November 25, 2015 Groy was signed by

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. ...

off the Buccaneers' practice squad. He started multiple games at

in relief of an injured

Eric Wood Eric Wood (born March 18, 1986) is a former American football center. He played college football at the University of Louisville and was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft (28th overall) by the Buffalo Bills of the National Footba ...

at the end of the 2016 season. Set to be a restricted free agent in 2017, the Bills placed an original round tender on Groy. The

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

signed him to a two-year offer sheet on March 14, 2017, giving the Bills five days to match the offer or lose him to the Rams. On March 17, 2017, the Bills matched the Rams' offer, keeping him with the Bills under a two-year contract. In 2018, Groy was named the Bills' starting center to begin the season following the retirement of

and beating out veteran

Russell Bodine Russell Bodine (born June 30, 1992) is an American football Center (American football), center who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Carolina ...

. He started the first two games before being benched for Week 3 in favor of Bodine. He was re-named the starter in Week 14 following a season-ending injury to Bodine.

New Orleans Saints

On May 22, 2019, Groy was signed by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.

Los Angeles Chargers

On October 9, 2019, Groy was signed by the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

. Groy re-signed with the Chargers on May 20, 2020. He was released on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on September 12 for the team's week 1 game against 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 reverted to the practice squad a day after the game. He was promoted to the active roster on September 26, 2020. He started three games at right guard in place of an injured

Trai Turner Trai Denzell Turner (born June 14, 1993) is an American football guard for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 20 ...

before being placed on injured reserve on October 29, 2020, while also testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was moved back to injured reserve from the COVID-19 list on December 30.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groy, Ryan 1990 births Living people People from Middleton, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Dane County, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin American football centers American football offensive guards Wisconsin Badgers football players Chicago Bears players New England Patriots players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Buffalo Bills players New Orleans Saints players Los Angeles Chargers players