Thomas Andrew Compton (born May 10, 1989) 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 tackle for 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 ...

(NFL). He played college football at

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

and was drafted by the

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 ...

in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Compton has also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears,

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 ...

, New York Jets, and

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 ...

Early life

A native of the suburb

Rosemount, Minnesota Rosemount is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, on the southern edge of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. The population was 25,650 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Rosemount was establi ...

, Compton attended

Rosemount High School Rosemount High School is a public four-year high school in Rosemount, Minnesota, United States, founded in 1918. The school is one of four four-year high schools in Independent School District 196 (Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District). T ...

, where he was a two-year starter on the offensive line and led the team to the section championship and state semifinals.

College career

At the University of South Dakota, Compton was a three-time

Great West Conference The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football followin ...

selection—honorable mention in 2009 and consecutive first team selections in 2010, 2011—and 2011 GWC Offensive Lineman of the Year. After his senior season, he played at the 2012 East–West Shrine Game.

Professional career

Compton was invited to the 2012 NFL Combine, where he was listed as the No. 9 offensive guard prospect. Projected as a fourth round selection by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'', Compton was ranked as the No. 8 offensive guard available in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Washington Redskins

Compton was drafted in the sixth round of 2012 NFL Draft by the

. He was the first South Dakota Coyote drafted since Chul Schwanke in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. He was officially signed by the Redskins to a four-year contract on May 6, 2012. Compton was cut on August 31, 2012 for final cuts before the start of the 2012 season. After not being claimed off waivers, he was signed to the team's practice squad the next day. On December 5, 2012, it was announced that Compton had been promoted to the Redskins 53-man roster after the Redskins placed cornerback

Cedric Griffin Cedric Leonard Griffin (born November 11, 1982) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at the ...

on the suspended list. He became the starting right tackle midway through the 2014 season, after the incumbent

Tyler Polumbus Tyler Polumbus (born April 10, 1985) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In addition to t ...

was benched following poor performance. The Redskins re-signed Compton on February 27, 2015.

Atlanta Falcons

Compton signed with the Atlanta Falcons on March 15, 2016. In the 2016 season, Compton and the Falcons reached

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 ...

, where they faced the New England Patriots on February 5, 2017. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons lost 28-34 in overtime, despite having a 25-point lead.

Chicago Bears

Compton signed with the Chicago Bears on March 11, 2017.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 22, 2018, Compton signed with the

, re-uniting with

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washington ...

. He started 14 games at left guard, missing two with a knee injury.

New York Jets

On March 18, 2019, Compton signed with the New York Jets. After beginning the season as a backup, Compton was named the starting right guard in Week 11 following an injury to

Brian Winters Brian Joseph Winters (born March 1, 1952) is an American former basketball player and coach. Career Winters attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York, graduating in 1970. He then played collegia ...

. He started five games before being placed on injured reserve on December 28, 2019.

San Francisco 49ers

On April 3, 2020, Compton signed a one-year contract with the

. The signing reunited Compton with San Francisco 49ers’ head coach

Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, wh ...

, who previously was the offensive coordinator with the

and Atlanta Falcons. He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2020. He was activated on January 2, 2021. Compton re-signed with the 49ers on a one-year contract on April 28, 2021.

Denver Broncos

On March 17, 2022, Compton signed a one-year contract with 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 ...

. He was placed on the reserve/PUP list to start the season on August 23, 2022. He was activated on November 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 22.

Personal life

Compton played a reporter in the 2015 movie Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!. Compton is the cousin of fellow NFL player, Will Compton.

References

External links

*
Washington Redskins bio

South Dakota Coyotes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Tom 1989 births Living people People from Rosemount, Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota Sportspeople from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area American football offensive tackles South Dakota Coyotes football players Washington Redskins players Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players San Francisco 49ers players Denver Broncos players