Alex Balducci (born March 1, 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 wi ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. He played college football at

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, and signed with 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 ...

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 2016.

College career

Balducci played

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

for

from 2012 to 2015. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he sat out the first ten games but played the last four games after many injuries to the defensive line. As a freshman, he played under his future 49ers head coach

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. He came to prominence as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009 to 2012, whom he led to four consecutive BCS bowl ga ...

. On November 10, 2012, he made his collegiate debut in a 19–17 victory over

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He got his first collegiate start the following week against Stanford. On November 24, 2012, he made his first career tackle during a 48–24 victory over No. 16

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

. He finished his freshman season with one tackle in four games. The following year, he played in 10 games during his sophomore season and made 18 combined tackles. As a junior, he played in ten games, made 18 total tackles, three tackles for a loss, and a sack. In 2015, Balducci played in all 13 games and had a career-high 40 combined tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

On May 6, 2016, the

signed Balducci to a three-year, $1.35 million undrafted free agent contract with $57,500 guaranteed and a signing bonus of $12,500. This reunited him with his former head coach at

and former 49ers' head coach Chip Kelly. Throughout mini-camps, Kelly and the 49ers' coaching staff worked with Balducci in an attempt to convert him into an offensive lineman. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the 49ers as a part of their final roster cuts. The next day, he was signed to their practice squad. On December 12, 2016, the 49ers promoted Balducci to the active roster after a season-ending injury to Daniel Kilgore and an injury to Fahn Cooper. On December 24, 2016, he made his professional regular season debut in the 49ers' 22–21 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. The following week, he played in the 49ers' 25–23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He finished his rookie season appearing in two games. On May 2, 2017, Balducci was waived by the 49ers.

New York Jets

On May 3, 2017, Balducci was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Washington Redskins

On September 11, 2017, Balducci was signed to 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 ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Redskins on January 1, 2018. He was waived on August 1, 2018.

New York Jets (second stint)

On August 6, 2018, Balducci signed with the New York Jets. He was waived on August 31, 2018.

Arizona Hotshots

Balducci signed a contract with the

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...

of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) on March 25, 2019, while on the team's rights list. He was activated from the rights list on March 26. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Dallas Renegades

Balducci was drafted in the 5th round in phase two in 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 ...

by the

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayn ...

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

Personal life

Balducci was raised by his parents, Ralph and Kathy Balducci, and has one sister, Kristin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balducci, Alex Living people 1994 births American football centers American football defensive tackles Players of American football from Portland, Oregon Central Catholic High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Oregon Ducks football players Arizona Hotshots players San Francisco 49ers players New York Jets players Washington Redskins players Dallas Renegades players