Samuel Cosmi (born February 16, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

and was drafted by Washington in the second round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Cosmi was born in

Humble, Texas Humble ( ) is a city located in the Greater Houston, Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an Boomtown, oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing ...

, on February 16, 1999. Cosmi played football at Atascocita High School, where he was named to the first-team All-District 21-6A and second team 6A All-State as a senior. Rated a three-star recruit, Cosmi committed to play

at Houston over offers from TCU and Memphis but flipped his commitment to Texas after Houston coach

Tom Herman Thomas Herman III (born June 2, 1975) is an American college football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Florida Atlantic Owls football, Florida Atlantic Owls. He was the head football coach for the Texas Longhorns footbal ...

was hired by the school.

College career

Cosmi

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman season at Texas. He played in all 14 of Texas's games as a redshirt freshman and started the last 13 at right tackle. He started all 13 games as a redshirt sophomore and was named second-team All-

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

. Cosmi considered entering the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

, but opted to return to Texas for his redshirt junior season. Cosmi started the first eight games of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

shortened 2020 season before opting out of the remainder of Texas' games in order to prepare for the

. In a game against the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

that season, he caught a pass thrown to him by

Sam Ehlinger Samuel George Ehlinger ( ; born September 30, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns football, Tex ...

and ran 21 yards for a touchdown. He was named first-team All-Big 12 by the season's end.

Professional career

Preseason Week 1- Commanders at Jets - 53917476851

Cosmi was drafted by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the second round (51st overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021. Cosmi was named the starting right tackle during

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

and made his professional debut in the opening game of the season. In the second quarter, Cosmi left the Week 5 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

with an ankle injury. Cosmi missed the next four games until he returned against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in Week 11. He left that game early due to a hip injury and would eventually be 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 ...

on November 29, 2021. He was reactivated to the active roster on December 20 and finished out the season playing in nine total games. Cosmi underwent thumb surgery following Week 4 of the 2022 season. After missing three games, Cosmi played with a club on his hand in Week 8 but in a reserve role with the Commanders choosing to stick with Cornelius Lucas as the starting right tackle. In Week 13 against the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, he started at right

before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury. Cosmi remained at right guard for the 2023 season. On September 4, 2024, Cosmi signed a four-year contract extension worth $74 million with $45 million guaranteed. Cosmi played and started at right guard for 16 games in the 2024 regular season. Having left in the first half of the Divisional round game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

due to a knee injury, it was confirmed the next day that Cosmi tore his ACL and would be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 playoffs.

Personal life

Cosmi's parents immigrated from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

to the United States in the early 1980s. He is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

*
Washington Commanders profile

Texas Longhorns profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmi, Samuel 1999 births 21st-century American sportsmen American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles American people of Romanian descent Christians from Texas Living people Sportspeople from Humble, Texas Players of American football from Harris County, Texas Texas Longhorns football players Washington Commanders players Washington Football Team players