Aaron John Elling (born May 31, 1978, in

Waconia, Minnesota Waconia ( ) is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, United States. Waconia attracts visitors to nearby Lake Waconia, a lake locally renowned for its fishing and recreation opportunities. The city's population was 13,033 at the 2020 census. Ge ...

) 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 ...

placekicker. He was signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

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 2002. He played college football at

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. Elling has also been a member of the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

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 it ...

, Atlanta Falcons,

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

, Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders.

Early years

Born in Waconia, his family moved to Wyoming in his childhood. During his high school studies at Lander Valley High, he was a speaker at numerous events and was a player in the soccer team with whom he won two All-State honors.

College career

Elling attended

George Fox University George Fox University is a private Christian university in Newberg, Oregon. Founded as a school for Quakers in 1891, it is now the largest private university in Oregon with more than 4,000 students combined between its main campus in Newberg, it ...

where he played soccer his freshman year. He then transferred to the University of Wyoming where he walked on the football team. Majoring in exercise physiology at Wyoming, he planned to attend

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wo ...

to study optometry.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

He signed for the Miami Dolphins as a college free agent on May 7, 2002, but was waived on August 27. In 2003, Elling signed with the Vikings as a free agent and played in all 16 games scoring 102 points. He made his NFL debut against the Green Bay Packers on September 7. He was waived by the Vikings on September 2, 2004.

Tennessee Titans

Elling signed with the

on September 10, 2004, and in the season opener he scored five points and played as both kicker and punter. He was then waived by the Titans.

Minnesota Vikings (second stint)

Elling re-signed as a free agent by the Vikings on September 17, 2004. He suffered a broken ankle against the Indianapolis Colts and was placed on season-ending injured reserve. He was waived by the Vikings on September 6, 2005. In his two stints with the Viking he had a 72 field goal percentage, hitting 18 of 25 attempts.

Baltimore Ravens

Elling signed with the

as a free agent on September 27, 2005, and played in nine games. He was waived by the team on September 1, 2006.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 22, 2007, Elling signed with the Atlanta Falcons. He was cut on August 6.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Elling was signed by the Jaguars on August 10, 2007, as a free agent but was then released.

Cincinnati Bengals

Elling was then signed by the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2007 preseason. However, in his preseason debut, he tore a ligament in his knee attempting to make a tackle on kickoff, and was released on September 2.

Oakland Raiders

On August 8, 2008, Elling was signed by the Oakland Raiders to fill in for

Sebastian Janikowski Sebastian Paweł Janikowski (; born March 2, 1978) is a Polish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Florida State ...

in the preseason. Offensive tackle Mark Wilson was placed on injured reserve to make room for Elling. He was cut on August 26.

References

External links

Oakland Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elling, Aaron 1978 births Living people People from Waconia, Minnesota George Fox University alumni Wyoming Cowboys football players Pacific University alumni Minnesota Vikings players Tennessee Titans players Baltimore Ravens players Atlanta Falcons players Jacksonville Jaguars players Cincinnati Bengals players Oakland Raiders players