Alex Cappa (born January 27, 1995) 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 ...

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for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

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at Humboldt State. He was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by 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) NFC South, South divisio ...

College career

During Cappa's time at Humboldt State, he was named the GNAC offensive lineman of the year for 4 years in a row. He was also named to the First-team GNAC every year of his playing career. Following his senior season, Cappa was invited to the 2018 Senior Bowl.

Professional career

On November 27, 2017, Cappa accepted his invitation to play in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. He impressed scouts and NFL analysts with a strong week of practice before the Senior Bowl and helped solidify his draft stock. On January 27, 2018, Cappa played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl and was part of Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien's South team that won 45–16 to Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's North team. He attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

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and completed all of the combine and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Cappa was projected to be a fifth round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 14th best offensive tackle prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked the 15th best offensive tackle by Scouts Inc.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The

selected Cappa in the third round with the 94th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Buccaneers traded their fourth (102nd overall) and sixth round picks (180th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft to 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 expansion ...

in exchange for the Vikings' third round pick to draft Cappa. Cappa was the 12th offensive tackle drafted in 2018 and became Humboldt State's highest draft selection in school history. He also holds the distinction of being Humboldt State's 11th player drafted and the first player 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 ...

since Freeman Baysinger in

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, as well as being the final player drafted from Humboldt State as the school discontinued its football program after 2018. On May 13, 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Cappa to a four-year, $3.36 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

that includes a signing bonus of $793,704. As a rookie, Cappa appeared in six games, all at the end of the regular season. Cappa made his first career start in the 2019 regular season opener against 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 a game against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

on October 6, 2019, Cappa suffered a broken left arm but did not miss a snap after sustaining the injury in the second quarter. During the COVID-19 outbreak Cappa was involved with supporting local restaurants and businesses. On January 9, 2021, in the Wild Card Round against 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 ...

, Cappa suffered a fractured ankle. On January 15, 2021, Cappa was placed on injured reserve due to the injury. The Buccaneers went on to win Super Bowl LV.

Cincinnati Bengals

Cappa signed a four-year, $35 million contract with the

on March 18, 2022.

References

External links

Humboldt State Lumberjacks football bio

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cappa, Alex 1995 births Living people American football offensive tackles Humboldt State Lumberjacks football players People from Dublin, California American people of Italian descent Players of American football from California Sportspeople from Alameda County, California Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Cincinnati Bengals players