Gino Gradkowski (born November 5, 1988) 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 ...

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 eccentrici ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

. He was drafted by the

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 its ...

in the fourth round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

College career

Gradkowski played

as a guard and a center. He began his career playing for

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. He later transferred to the

. He started all fifteen games as a junior.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Gradkowski was drafted in the 4th round (98th overall) of the

by the

. In his first season with the team, the Ravens won

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. The game's

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

was

Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Baltim ...

, who was also a transfer to the Delaware Blue Hens. With the retirement of

Matt Birk Matthew Robert Birk (born July 23, 1976) is a former American football center who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He spent most of his professional career playing for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the Republican nom ...

following the 2012 season, Gradkowski became the starting center for the Ravens.

Denver Broncos

Gradkowski was traded to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

on April 1, 2015, for draft picks. He was waived by the Broncos on September 6.

Atlanta Falcons

Gradkowski was picked up off waivers by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

on September 7, 2015.

Carolina Panthers

On March 10, 2016, Gradkowski signed a three-year, $3.15 million free agent contract with 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 ...

. He also received a $400,000 signing bonus with $450,000 guaranteed. With Pro Bowler

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 ...

starting at center, Gradkowski would act as the backup center and guard. When Kalil left with a shoulder injury in Week 11, Gradkowski became the starting center the next week before suffering a knee injury later that game. Both Gradkowski and Kalil were placed on injured reserve on November 29, 2016. On September 2, 2017, Gradkowski was placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 8, 2017.

New York Jets

On August 15, 2018, Gradkowski signed with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. He was released on August 31, 2018.

Denver Broncos (second stint)

On November 12, 2018, Gradkowski signed with the Denver Broncos following an injury to

Matt Paradis Matt Paradis (born October 12, 1989) is an American football center who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Boise State. Professional career Paradis wa ...

Personal life

Gradkowski is the younger brother of former

NFL 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 major ...

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 ...

Bruce Gradkowski Bruce Raymond Gradkowski (born January 27, 1983) is a former American football quarterback and current offensive coordinator for the St. Louis BattleHawks. He played college football at Toledo. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the ...

References

External links

Delaware Blue Hens bioBaltimore Ravens bioDenver Broncos bioAtlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gradkowski, Gino 1988 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards American people of Italian descent American people of Polish descent Atlanta Falcons players Baltimore Ravens players Carolina Panthers players Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players Denver Broncos players New York Jets players Players of American football from Pittsburgh West Virginia Mountaineers football players