Donald Ward Penn (born April 27, 1983) 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 with ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. 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 ...

, and 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 expansion ...

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 2006. Penn has also played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, and

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 ...

Early years

Penn attended St. Anthony of Padua, Gardena, and graduated to Saint Bernard Catholic High School in Playa del Rey, California. He was a student and a letterman in football and basketball. In football, as a senior, he was named the Team's Lineman of the Year, was a first-team All-League selection, and was a first-team All- California Interscholastic Federation selection. As a junior, he was a second-team All-League selection. In basketball, he was an All-State selection. Penn graduated from Saint Bernard Catholic High School in 2001. He attended

in college, and he notably never allowed a sack throughout his college career.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Penn was signed by Tampa Bay after he was released from the

in 2006. Later in the season in a game against 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 ...

, Penn blocked an extra point attempt. On April 10, 2009, he signed a one-year $2.792 million contract to stay with the Buccaneers. On July 30, 2010, Penn signed a six-year $43 million contract. Penn scored his first ever touchdown in the NFL on November 21, 2010 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 ...

. It came on a one-yard pass from

Josh Freeman Joshua Tyler Freeman (born January 13, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Kansas State University, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Freeman became th ...

to put the Buccaneers up 21-0 in the 4th quarter. Penn was named to the

2011 Pro Bowl The 2011 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2010 season. It took place at 7:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. local time) on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The NFC won 55–41, despi ...

as an alternate. He replaced

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

tackle Chad Clifton, whose team advanced to Super Bowl XLV. On November 11, 2013, Penn scored his second career touchdown against the Miami Dolphins, which was also his 100th consecutive game started. Penn was released on March 13, 2014.

Oakland Raiders

Penn was signed by the

on March 18, 2014 to a two-year, $9.6 million contract with $4.2 million guaranteed. As an eligible offensive lineman, Penn scored his third career touchdown on a pass from Derek Carr against the

, this being the second time he scored against that team. The Raiders re-signed Penn to a two-year, $14 million contract on March 16, 2016. Penn was named to his second Pro Bowl in 2016 along with fellow Raiders offensive linemen

Kelechi Osemele Kelechi Keith Ayo Osemele (; ; born June 24, 1989) is an American football offensive guard who is a free agent. He played college football at Iowa State. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and w ...

and

Rodney Hudson William Rodney Hudson (born July 12, 1989) is an American football center for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, and was a two-time All-American. He was drafted by the Kan ...

. On September 15, 2017, Penn signed a two-year, $21 million contract extension with the Raiders. On December 18, 2017, Penn's season was finished after revealing that he would undergo foot surgery. He was placed on injured reserve on December 22, 2017. He was named to his third

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

but because of his foot surgery, could not participate. In 2018, the Raiders drafted

Kolton Miller Kolton Daniel Miller (born October 9, 1995) is an American football offensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA. College career After redshirting in 2014, Miller made his ...

in the first round of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

with the intention of being their future left tackle. At the end of training camp, Penn was moved to right tackle after Miller won the starting left tackle job. On October 3, 2018, Penn was placed on injured reserve after suffering a groin injury in Week 4. Penn was released on March 16, 2019.

Washington Redskins

On July 31, 2019, Penn signed a one-year deal with the

. The Redskins chose not to re-sign Penn for the

2020 NFL season The 2020 NFL season was the 101st season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season started with the NFL Kickoff Game on September 10, in which defending Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City defeated Houston. The playoffs were ...

and Penn became a free agent.

Retirement

On March 15, 2021, Penn signed a one-day contract with the Las Vegas Raiders, to retire as a member of the team.

Personal life

Penn married his wife, Dominique, in June 2012. They have two sons, Donald III and Dominick, and 1 daughter, Demi. Donald and his wife host annual book-bag and Christmas shopping events for youth at the East Oakland Youth Development Center.

References

External links

Utah State Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, Donald 1983 births Living people American football offensive tackles Minnesota Vikings players National Conference Pro Bowl players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Los Angeles Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Washington Redskins players Utah State Aggies football players American Conference Pro Bowl players