Mario Addison (born September 6, 1987) 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 wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

who is a free agent. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

. He was signed by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

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 i ...

in 2011. After being cut and spending time as a reserve for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

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) ...

, Addison was signed by 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. ...

, playing on their defensive line for eight seasons before signing with Buffalo in 2020.

Early life and college career

Addison attended Tarrant High School just outside of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

. At Tarrant, he lettered in varsity football and basketball for four years. He originally played running back, but was moved to quarterback after the injury of the original starter. After suffering a broken hand on his throwing arm, he changed positions to defensive end. He was recruited lightly as a high school senior and chose to enroll in

Northeast Mississippi Community College Northeast Mississippi Community College (NEMCC) is a public community college in Booneville, Mississippi. History The college was founded in 1948 as ''Northeast Mississippi Junior College,'' and became known primarily as an agricultural school a ...

Booneville, Mississippi Booneville is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi and is the county seat of Prentiss County. It is located in the hilly North Mississippi region, and ecologically is part of the Southeastern Plains region. The city of Booneville is nickname ...

after graduation. After playing at Northeast Mississippi Community College for two years, Addison signed to play with

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

. After redshirting his first year in 2008, he began seeing playing time in 2009 as a reserve player at the defensive end position. Despite being a reserve player, he saw action in all 13 games during the season and recorded 2.5 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss. In 2010 during his senior season, Addison broke out as a star player for Troy. He recorded 10.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss, and 3 forced fumbles on the season. He was named to the All-Sun Belt Second-team following the end of the season. Addison began receiving attention from various NFL teams for his performance that year, but was never drafted.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Addison was signed on July 26, 2011 by the

as an

. He was cut by the Bears on November 21, 2011 to free up space on the 53-man roster for veteran players to cover the injuries picked up by long snapper Patrick Mannelly and quarterback

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

in the previous day's 31–20 victory over the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. He had only played in two games with the team.

Indianapolis Colts

Addison was claimed off waivers by

on November 22, though 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) South division. The cl ...

had also placed in a claim for Addison. On October 1, 2012, Addison was waived by the Colts, but added to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day.

Washington Redskins

Addison was signed off the Colts' practice squad by the

on October 9, 2012. After playing five games with the Redskins, he was waived by the team on November 29. He was signed to the practice squad the next day.

Carolina Panthers

file:Mario addison panthers.jpg, 225px, Addison with the

in 2014. Addison was signed on December 4, 2012 by the

from the Redskins' practice squad. On June 18, 2014, he signed a two-year contract extension. Through the first five games of the 2014 season, Addison led the Panthers with five sacks and pass rush productivity. Addison contributed to the Panthers in 2015 with 6.0 sacks on one of the league's best defenses. On February 7, 2016, Addison was part of the Panthers team that played in

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...

. In the game, the Panthers fell 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 headquar ...

by a score of 24–10. On February 26, 2017, Addison signed a three-year contract extension with the Panthers after leading the team with 9.5 sacks in 2016. In Week 3 of the 2019 season against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

, Addison sacked rookie quarterback

Kyler Murray Kyler Cole Murray (born August 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint at Texas A&M, Murray played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trop ...

three times in the 38–20 win. Addison recorded two more sacks against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...

Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, where he led the team to a national championship in 2 ...

the following week in a 16–10 win.

Buffalo Bills

On March 27, 2020, Addison signed a three-year contract with the

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

. The signing reunited Addison with Buffalo Bills' head coach Sean McDermott, who previously coached him as the defensive coordinator for the

. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against 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 ...

, Addison recorded one sack on

Tyler Huntley Tyler Isaiah Huntley (born February 3, 1998), nicknamed "Snoop", is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah Utes, leading them to two South D ...

during the 17–3 win.

Houston Texans

On May 10, 2022, Addison signed with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 10, 2022. He was activated on October 8. He was released on March 16, 2023.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Addison is a member of the Rho Delta Delta chapter of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty a ...

fraternity at

. Addison is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

. His brother, Gjamal Antonio Rodriqcus, was shot and killed on October 30, 2019.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioCarolina Panthers bioTroy Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Addison, Mario 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama American football defensive ends Northeast Mississippi Tigers football players Troy Trojans football players Chicago Bears players Indianapolis Colts players Washington Redskins players Carolina Panthers players Buffalo Bills players Houston Texans players