Tyler Larsen (born July 8, 1991) 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 ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

. He signed with the

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

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 ...

in 2014 and has also played for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

High school

Larsen attended Jordan High School in

Sandy, Utah Sandy is a city in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population of Sandy was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah. The population is currently estimated ...

, where he played both offensive and defensive line. He earned first-team all-state and second-team all-region honors after recording 27 tackles, including six sacks as well as six fumble recoveries with four going for touchdowns as a senior. He helped lead the Beetdiggers to the state playoffs all four seasons, finishing career with 96 tackles, 16 sacks, 12 fumble recoveries, including four touchdowns. He was rated a two-star recruit by ''

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''.

College career

Larsen attended

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

and played for the Aggies from 2009 to 2013. As a freshman, he played in the first two games of the season before sustaining a season-ending knee injury and was granted a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

season. Returning in 2010, Larsen would go on to start 52 consecutive games at

for the Aggies, earning himself first-team All- WAC honors twice (2011, 2012) and first-team All- MWC in his final season. Larsen also made the watch lists for each the Rimington Trophy and the Outland Trophy his final 2 years (2012, 2013), and was nominated as a finalist for the Rimington Trophy in 2013.

Professional career

A three-time all-conference selection, Larsen was regarded as one of the best interior lineman prospects in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He was projected a late round draft selection.

Miami Dolphins

Larsen signed with the

after going undrafted in 2014. He was released on August 26, 2014.

Washington Redskins

On February 10, 2015, Larsen signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He was waived for final roster cuts before the start of the regular season on September 5.

Carolina Panthers

The

signed Larsen to a

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

on January 12, 2016. He was released on October 8, 2016, and re-signed to the practice squad on October 11. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 4, 2016. On November 4, 2016, Larsen had his first career start at center against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

after

Ryan Kalil Ryan Joseph Kalil (born March 29, 1985) is an American film and television producer and former NFL center. He played college football at USC, where he was a member of two national championship teams, was named a first-team All-American, and won ...

and

Gino Gradkowski Gino Gradkowski (born November 5, 1988) is a former American football Center (American football), center. He played college football at the University of Delaware. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. ...

both suffered injuries. He finished the 2016 season as the Panthers' starting center. In 2017, Larsen played in 14 games with 10 starts at center in place of the injured Ryan Kalil. On August 8, 2018, Larsen signed a two-year contract extension. Larsen was placed on the reserve/

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 ...

list by the team on October 16, 2020, and activated on November 4.

Washington Football Team / Commanders

Larsen signed with the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

on March 18, 2021. Larsen took over as the starting center in Week 10 after Chase Roullier was placed on injured reserve. In the Week 11 game against the

, he left the game early due to injury. He missed the following two games. Larsen returned in the Week 14 loss against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, but left the game in the fourth quarter after defensive tackle

Neville Gallimore Neville Gallimore (born January 17, 1997) is a Canadian American football defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma. Early years Gallimore's parents were born and rai ...

tackled both Larsen and quarterback

Taylor Heinicke Taylor Heinicke ( ; born March 15, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Old Dominion and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted f ...

and Larsen was carted off the field. He was placed on injured reserve on December 27. Larsen re-signed with the team on March 17, 2022. He was placed on the

physically unable to perform Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

list at the start of

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, ...

in 2022 and returned to the active roster on October 8, 2022. In Week 6, Larsen took over as the starting center, replacing Nick Martin. In the Week 13 game against 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. ...

, Larsen was carted off the field with a dislocated kneecap in the fourth quarter. On December 12, he was placed on injured reserve. On March 16, 2023, Larsen re-signed with the Commanders on another one-year contract.

Personal

His brother,

Cody Larsen Cody Larsen (born December 31, 1987) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at Southern Utah. Early years He prepped at Utah's Jordan High School, where he earned all-state honors his junior and senior seas ...

, also played in the

References

External links

Washington Commanders bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Tyler 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Salt Lake City American football offensive linemen Utah State Aggies football players Miami Dolphins players Washington Redskins players Carolina Panthers players Washington Football Team players Washington Commanders players