Otis Jason Santiago (born April 4, 1974) is a Canadian 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

in the

National Football League 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 ...

for the Atlanta Falcons,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, Oakland Raiders and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

. He also was a member of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He played college football at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

Early years

Santiago who is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, attended

St. Michael's College School St. Michael's College School, (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an independent, Catholic school for young men in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Basilian Fathers, it is the largest school of its kind in Cana ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, where he was an All-Canadian first-team

. He played both ways also starting on the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

, while returning kickoffs and punts as well. He helped his school win 2 district titles. As a senior, he was named to the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'' and ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' All-star football teams. He contributed to the school winning a pair of district championships in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He competed in track in the shot put and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

College career

Santiago accepted a football scholarship from

. As a junior, he was named the starter at

, registering 28 receptions for 297 yards and 2

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. As a senior, he posted 26 receptions for 339 yards and 2

s. He started 22 of 33 career games and was named to the MAC All-Academic first-team for three straight seasons. He finished his college career with 62 receptions for 730 yards with an 11.8-yard average and 4

Professional career

Santiago was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round (70th overall) of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

. He also was selected by the Edmonton Eskimos in the fifth round (40th overall) of the 1997 CFL Draft. As a rookie, the team was moving from a

run and shoot The run and shoot offense (also known as Run N' Shoot) is an offensive system for American football which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments of receivers' routes in response to different defenses. It was conceived by former ...

to a traditional offense and he earned the starter job over Brian Kozlowski. He was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

, after fracturing his fibula in the twelfth game of the season against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

. He started 11 games, totaling 17 receptions for 217 yards and 2

s, for an average of 12.8 yards per catch. In 1998, Santiago contributed to the team reaching

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos (who were also defending their Super Bowl XXXII championship) and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Atlan ...

, posting 27 receptions for 478 yards and 5

s in 16 games, for an average of 15.9 yards per catch. He is famously known for popularizing a dance to celebrate a touchdown in which he flapped his arms as if they were wings and rhythmically bouncing side-to-side in the crowd's direction, that would later become known as the "Dirty Bird". In 1999, he started 14 games, catching 15 receptions for 174 yards and no

s. In 2000, he was passed on the depth chart by

Reggie Kelly Reginald Kuta Kelly (born February 22, 1977) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft and played the majority of his career for the Cincinnati Bengals. He played ...

. On August 27, he was traded to the

in exchange for a 2001 fourth round selection (#102- Matt Stewart) and a 2002 seventh round selection (#217-Michael Coleman). In 2000, the Cowboys acquired him to backup David LaFleur and

Jackie Harris Jackie Bernard Harris (born January 4, 1968) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Oilers / Titans and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at w ...

. He played mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, until being cut on November 21. On November 22, he was claimed off waivers by the

and was declared inactive for the final 4 games. In 2001, he started 12 games after Rickey Dudley was placed on the

with a Lis Franc foot injury. His production fell to 17 receptions for 153 yards and 2

s and he wasn't re-signed after the season. On July 15, 2002, he was signed as a

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 ...

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 ...

, but injured his foot and knee in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

and was waived injured on August 27. On March 8, 2003, he signed with the Oakland Raiders, where he played in 12 games (starts), with 5 receptions for 69 receiving yards, and averaging 13.8 yards per catch. Having already totaled 972 yards before joining the Raiders, he was able to reach the 1,000 yard milestone during his short tenure with the Northern

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 ...

team. On April 15, 2004, Santiago was signed by 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 ...

who released him at the end of

on August 31. On May 23, 2006, Santiago signed with the Oakland Raiders after not suiting up for the 2005 season, but was waived with an injury settlement on September 9. On December 13, he signed with the New England Patriots, who released him 2 days later after injuring his foot. On August 7, 2007, the Oakland Raiders signed Santiago as a

. He was released before the season began on September 1. In his career in the NFL, he played in 68 games, gaining a total of 1,041 yards for an average of 12.9 yards per catch and 9 touchdowns. On May 14, 2010, after being 3 years out of football, he was signed as a

by the

of the

, reuniting with

Marc Trestman Marc Marlyn Trestman (born January 15, 1956) is an American football and Canadian football coach. He led the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to back-to-back Grey Cup victories in 2009 and 2010, and another as head coac ...

, who was his offensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders. He was limited with a hamstring injury and was released on August 28.

Personal life

In 2016, he returned to Kent State as a student assistant coach and was promoted to

s coach and assistant

coordinator the following season.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago, O.J. 1974 births Living people Black Canadian players of American football Sportspeople from Whitby, Ontario Players of Canadian football from Ontario Puerto Rican players of American football Canadian players of American football American football tight ends Kent State Golden Flashes football players Atlanta Falcons players Dallas Cowboys players Gridiron football people from Ontario Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Oakland Raiders players Montreal Alouettes players Kent State Golden Flashes football coaches Canadian people of German descent Canadian people of Puerto Rican descent Sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Canadian sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent