Anthony Moeaki (born June 8, 1987) 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 wi ...

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. Lik ...

. He played college football at

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. He was selected in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft 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 ...

, and also played for the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.

Early life

Anthony graduated high school at

Wheaton Warrenville South High School Wheaton Warrenville South High School (WWSHS), locally referred to as "South", is a public four-year high school in Wheaton, Illinois. It is one of two high schools that are part of Community Unit School District 200, the other being Wheaton Nort ...

in 2005 and was high school football teammates with fellow Iowa Hawkeye Dace Richardson. In addition to football, he was also played basketball and tennis.

College career

Moeaki played college football at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

from 2005 to 2009.

Statistics

Professional career

Moeaki was projected to be a third or fourth round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the seventh tight end prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked the eighth best tight end by Bleacher Report.

Kansas City Chiefs

The

selected Moeaki in the third round (93rd overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. The Kansas City Chiefs traded their fourth (102nd overall) and fifth round picks (144th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft to the Houston Texans in order to acquire the third round pick (93rd overall) used to draft Moeaki. Moeaki was the fourth tight end drafted from a class that included

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...

Jermaine Gresham Jermaine Gresham (born June 16, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he received All-American honors. Hi ...

, and

Jimmy Graham Jimmy Graham (born November 24, 1986) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played only one year of college football at University of Miami after playing four years of basketball. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in ...

. On July 22, 2010, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Moeaki to a four-year, $2.47 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

. He scored his first NFL touchdown in his first NFL game on

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

on September 13, 2010, on a 2-yard pass from

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Matt Cassel Matthew Brennan Cassel (born May 17, 1982) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. A member of seven NFL teams, Cassel's most notable stints were with the New England Patriots ...

against the San Diego Chargers. Following the game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Moeaki received the

Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week is an award given to the best performing rookie players in the National Football League (NFL). It was first awarded in 2002 and is sponsored by Pepsi. Winners are chosen among five finalists every week during the seaso ...

award after he put up 44 receiving yards and a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab. On September 1, 2011, Moeaki was placed on IR after suffering an injury during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, which kept him out of the

2011 NFL season The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion Ne ...

. He was reunited with

Ricky Stanzi Richard Joseph Stanzi (born September 3, 1987) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa. Early years Born ...

in 2011 when the

drafted him in the 5th round. Moeaki shared the starting role with Kevin Boss until Boss went on the IR in Week 2, when he became the primary tight end. He ended up with 33 receptions for 453 yards and a touchdown. After fracturing his shoulder in the preseason, Moeaki was waived with an injury designation on August 31, 2013. He cleared waivers and was added to the Chiefs' injured reserve list. On October 23, an injury settlement was reached and Moeaki became a free agent.

Buffalo Bills

On December 4, 2013, Moeaki signed with the Buffalo Bills. On August 29, 2014, Moeaki was released during the Bills' final preseason roster cutdowns.

Seattle Seahawks

Moeaki signed with the Seattle Seahawks on November 4, 2014. In his second game with the Seahawks, Moeaki scored a touchdown against his former team, the Chiefs.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 19, 2015, Moeaki signed with the Atlanta Falcons. On September 5, 2015, Moeaki was released by the Falcons. On October 6, 2015, Moeaki was re-signed by the Falcons.

Chicago Bears

On June 16, 2016, Moeaki signed with the Chicago Bears. He was cut at the end of training camp on September 3, 2016.

Personal life

Moeaki is also a member of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. Moeaki's father, Sione Moeaki, won a national championship as a member of Brigham Young University Rugby Team and was a Deans assistant at West Chicago Community High School. In 2010, Moeaki's sister and former BYU basketball player, Keilani Moeaki, married former Chicago Bears

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Harvey Unga William Harvey Unga (born January 18, 1987) is a former American football fullback and the current running backs coach for the Brigham Young University football team. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears with a seventh round pick in the 2010 Supp ...

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioLeVar Woods Football Academy bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moeaki, Tony 1987 births American football tight ends American Latter Day Saints American people of Tongan descent Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players Chicago Bears players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Kansas City Chiefs players Living people Players of American football from Illinois Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from Wheaton, Illinois American sportspeople of Polynesian descent