Zach Moore (born September 5, 1990) is a 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 ...

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 ...

. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round, 198th overall, of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he led the defense with 14 sacks in 2012.

Early years

A native of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Moore attended

Simeon Career Academy Neal F. Simeon Career Academy (formerly known as Westcott Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Career Technical Academy), locally known simply as Simeon, is a public four-year vocational high school locat ...

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

, where he played primarily offensive tackle as an underclassman due to his 6'6" frame. He was selected to Illinois Top 100 Players, was a Chicago 5-star recruit and was ranked in the Illinois Prairie State Top Five. He was named All-City First-team and All-State. He also competed in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

for the Wolverines. He moved on to Division II Concordia University, where he focused on playing

. He became a starter as a sophomore, registering 42 tackles (11.5 for loss) and 10 sacks. The next year, he was redshirted and did not play. In 2012, he tallied 14 sacks and 21 tackles for loss. As a senior, he posted 33 tackles (9.5 for loss), 7 sacks, 12 quarterback hurries, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 passes defensed, and one blocked kick. He set the school record in career sacks (33) and finished third all-time in tackles for loss (45).

Professional career

Pre-draft

New England Patriots

Moore was selected in the sixth round (198th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft by the New England Patriots, becoming Concordia-St. Paul's first player to be selected in the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. During the 2014 season, Moore was active for eight regular season games, and did not play in any of the team's postseason contests, including their

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

victory over the Seattle Seahawks, becoming Concordia-St.Paul's first Super Bowl champion. In his limited snaps, Moore recorded only three tackles, but did record a half-sack (along with

Dont'a Hightower Qualin Dont'a Hightower (born March 12, 1990) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Alabama, receiving consensus All-American honors and winning two BCS National Championships. Hightower was sel ...

) and forced fumble of Chicago Bears 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 ...

, which was returned for a touchdown by

Rob Ninkovich Robert Michael Ninkovich (born February 1, 1984) is a former American football outside linebacker who played eleven seasons in National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Purdue as a defensive end and was drafted by the New Orle ...

. Moore also recovered a

C. J. Spiller Clifford "C. J." Spiller Jr. (born August 5, 1987) is an American football coach and former running back who is currently the running backs coach at Clemson University. He previously served as a graduate intern at Clemson in 2020. Spiller play ...

fumble against the Buffalo Bills. Moore was released by the Patriots on September 5, 2015.

Minnesota Vikings

On September 5, 2015, Moore was signed 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 ...

to the practice squad, moving back to the state where his college career took place. On December 19, Moore was promoted to the 53-man roster. On September 3, 2016, he was released as part of the team's final roster cuts.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 6,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, Moore was signed to 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 divi ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 16, when the team was forced to play him against 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 ...

, because of injuries to

DeMarcus Lawrence DeMarcus Lawrence (born April 28, 1992) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Bu ...

and Cedric Thornton. He was released on December 26, to make room for

Randy Gregory Randy Gregory (born November 23, 1992) is an American football outside linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska, and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of ...

, who was coming off a suspension.

San Francisco 49ers

On December 27,

, Moore was claimed off waivers by the

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 ...

, in order to secure his rights for the 2017 season. He was declared inactive for the last game of the regular season. On May 2, 2017, Moore was waived by the 49ers.

Carolina Panthers

On May 3, 2017, Moore was claimed off waivers 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. ...

. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Panthers' practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 2, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Moore was released by the Panthers.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 2, 2018, the Cardinals claimed Moore off of waivers. He played in all 16 games recording 14 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

References

External links

Concordia Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Zach Living people 1990 births American football defensive ends Players of American football from Chicago Concordia Golden Bears football players New England Patriots players Minnesota Vikings players Dallas Cowboys players San Francisco 49ers players Carolina Panthers players Arizona Cardinals players