Christopher Aziz Peace (born February 8, 1996) 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 ...

former coach and

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who is currently a graduate assistant for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...

. 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 ...

at Virginia and in 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) for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Early life and high school

Peace was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

and grew up mostly in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

. He attended Indian River High School through his sophomore year before transferring Warwick High School after his family moved to

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

. He transferred again to Denbigh High School before his senior year and was moved to linebacker after playing wide receiver and safety and recorded 20 sacks. Peace is married and has one son.

College career

Peace spent five seasons as a member of the

, redshirting his freshman season. As a redshirt freshman he played in 12 in all 12 of the Cavaliers' games, mostly as a reserve linebacker except for one start. The next season, Peace became a starter at outside linebacker and finished 5th on the team with 53 tackles and third with 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. As a redshirt junior, Peace was named honorable mention All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) after tallying 68 tackles, 7.5 sacks (5th-most in the conference and most by a linebacker), and 10.5 tackles for a loss. In his final season at Virginia, he made 65 tackles (11.5 for loss) and again led all ACC linebackers with 7.5 sacks and was named third-team All-ACC.

Professional career

Los Angeles Chargers

Peace signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on April 27, 2019. He made his NFL debut on September 8, 2019, in the Chargers' season opener against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He was waived on September 14, 2019, but was re-signed three days later. He was waived again on September 28, 2019.

New York Giants

On September 30, 2019, Peace was claimed off waivers by the

. He was placed on season ending injured reserve on December 7, 2019. Peace played in five games (one with the Chargers and four with the Giants) during his rookie season. He was waived on August 2, 2020. Peace had a tryout with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

on August 22, 2020.

Coaching career

Peace returned to Virginia as a defensive graduate assistant prior to the team's 2021 season.

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bioNew York Giants bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peace, Chris 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Virginia Sportspeople from Chesapeake, Virginia Sportspeople from Newport News, Virginia American football defensive ends Virginia Cavaliers football players Los Angeles Chargers players New York Giants players Virginia Cavaliers football coaches