Weston Robert Schweitzer (born September 11, 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 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 ...

for the

Washington Commanders 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) E ...

of 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 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 ...

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

and was drafted 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 ...

in the sixth round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early life

Schweitzer was born on September 11, 1993 in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, where he graduated from Chaparral High School in 2011. Schweitzer also was a wrestler in high school in addition to playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, where he joined the starting line up as a sophomore and helped win more than three consecutive state championships. Schweitzer originally planned on joining the

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

after high school until he began receiving athletic scholarship offers.

College career

As a two-star recruit, Schweitzer committed to

in 2011 over offers from

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

, Columbia,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, and

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

. He redshirted his true freshman season and played in seven games. In 2013, under new head coach

Ron Caragher Ronald Allen Caragher (born January 24, 1967) is an American athletics administrator and former college football coach who currently serves as the assistant athletics director for development at the University of San Diego. He was previously th ...

, Schweitzer started all 12 games at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

and helped the offense set a school record average 493.2 yards per game. The offensive line also gave up one sack per 23.6 pass attempts, and the yards per rush improved by 0.5 from the previous season. Schweitzer started all 25 games in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, including San Jose State's victory in the 2015 Cure Bowl. As a senior in 2015, Schweitzer was elected team captain and earned second-team All-MW honors. A chemistry major, Schweitzer graduated in 2016. In 2013 and 2014, Schweitzer was an

atmospheric chemistry Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets is studied. It is a multidisciplinary approach of research and draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteoro ...

research intern at the San Jose State University College of Science. Schweitzer won four academic all-conference honors and was named to the 2016

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and "developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the dr ...

Hampshire Honor Society.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Schweitzer was drafted by the

in the sixth round (195th overall) in the

. Schweitzer signed a four-year contract with the Falcons on May 5. Schweitzer was named the Falcons' starting right guard to start the 2017 season, and ended up starting all 16 games. In 2018, Schweitzer was demoted to swing guard and backup center to start the season after losing the starting right guard spot to

Brandon Fusco Brandon Fusco (born July 26, 1988) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the 172nd overall pick in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Slippery Rock University of Pe ...

. He was named the starting left guard in Week 3 following a season-ending injury to

Andy Levitre Andrew Steven Levitre ( ; born May 15, 1986) is a former American football offensive guard. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round, 51st overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, and has also played for the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta F ...

, and started 13 games there.

Washington Football Team / Commanders

On March 24, 2020, Schweitzer signed with the

Washington Football Team 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) E ...

, then known as the Redskins prior to a name change later that offseason. From Week 3 through 5, Schweitzer filled in as the starting right guard after Brandon Scherff suffered a injury in the Week 2 game 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 t ...

. Starting Week 7 against the

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 divisi ...

, Schweitzer was made the starting left guard due to the poor performance of

Wes Martin Wesley Martin (born May 9, 1996) is an American football offensive guard. He played college football at Indiana and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Martin has also been a member of the New York Gi ...

and

Saahdiq Charles Saahdiq Charles (born July 26, 1999) is an American football guard for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by Washington in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. C ...

being placed on injured reserve. He played all 16 games of the regular season, starting 13 (three at right guard and ten at left guard). Schweitzer filled in for an injured Scherff as the starting right guard from Week 5 through 8 of the 2021 season. In the Week 11 win over 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 took over at center after

Tyler Larsen Tyler Larsen (born July 8, 1991) is an American football center for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah State. He signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2014 a ...

left the game due to injury. The following week, Schweitzer started at center against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

but left the game after suffering an ankle injury and was subsequently placed on

injured reserve 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 ...

. On October 1, 2022, Schweitzer was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on December 3.

Personal life

Schweitzer is a fan of

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

. He originally picked up the hobby as a way to condition his arms during his time with the Falcons.

References

External links

Washington Commanders bioSan Jose State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schweitzer, Wes 1993 births Living people American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards American football centers Atlanta Falcons players Players of American football from Scottsdale, Arizona San Jose State Spartans football players Washington Commanders players Washington Football Team players