Shaquille Olajuwon Mason (born August 28, 1993) 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 ...

offensive guard 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 in ...

for the Houston Texans of the

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(NFL). Mason played college football at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

from 2011 to 2014 and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

College career

Mason played 11 games as a true freshman in 2011. From 2012 to 2014, he started in 39 of the Yellow Jackets' 41 games, including every game as a junior and senior. Mason was first-team All- ACC in 2013 and 2014 as well as first-team All American in 2014.

Professional career

New England Patriots

On May 2, 2015, Mason was selected in the fourth round (131st overall) by the New England Patriots. Mason appeared in 14 games with 10 starts for the Patriots as a rookie. Mason broke his hand during the 2016 preseason and did not start in the season opener against the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

but split time at right guard with rookie Ted Karras. Since then, he started every game at right guard for the Patriots. On February 5, 2017, Mason was part of the Patriots team that won

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime. In 2017, Mason started all 16 games at right guard for the Patriots. He started in

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...

, but gave up the strip sack that ultimately proved to be the biggest play of the game. The Patriots lost 41-33 to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. On August 27, 2018, Mason signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the Patriots. He started 14 games at right guard in 2018, missing two with a calf injury. He was given a grade of 82.1 by

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in the regular season, the highest grade of any guard in the league. Mason played every offensive snap in Super Bowl LIII and the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. Mason was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

list by the Patriots on October 17, 2020, and activated on October 21.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 15, 2022, Mason was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a fifth round pick in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and ...

. The trade reunited him with star quarterback

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

Houston Texans

On March 20, 2023, the Buccaneers traded Mason and a 2023 seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

References

External links

Georgia Tech profile

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Shaq 1993 births Living people American football offensive guards American football centers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Houston Texans players New England Patriots players People from Columbia, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee Tampa Bay Buccaneers players