Austin Howard

Austin Howard (born March 22, 1987)[1] is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Northern Iowa, and was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He was also a member of the New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, and Washington Redskins.

Austin Howard
Howard with the Oakland Raiders in 2014
No. 68, 77, 79, 78
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1987-03-22) March 22, 1987
Davenport, Iowa
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:330 lb (150 kg)
Career information
High school:Davenport Central
(Davenport, Iowa)
College:Northern Iowa
Undrafted:2010
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× Second-team All-MVFC honors (2008, 2009)
Career NFL statistics
Games played:97
Games started:89
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Howard attended Davenport Central High School in Davenport, Iowa.[2]

College career

Howard signed with Northern Iowa in 2005 as a tight end.[3] He was redshirted during the 2005 season.

He joined the school's basketball team in December 2005 as a forward,[2] and on December 22, he scored four points and blocked three shots in a game against Hawaii Pacific.[4]

On December 1, 2007 in a game against the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, Howard caught a touchdown pass from Eric Sanders to bring the Panthers within five points of Delaware, but the Blue Hens ended up winning the game, 39–27.[5] He started in all 13 games at tight end in 2007.[6] He made five receptions for 38 yards.[7]

Howard made the switch from tight end to offensive tackle during the 2008 offseason.[8] He earned MVFC offensive lineman of the week honors following a game against Missouri State on November 8, 2008.[9]

Howard earned second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors following the 2008 and 2009 seasons.[10]

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Howard was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent following the 2010 NFL Draft on April 27, 2010.[11] He made the 53-man roster and played in four games, starting at left tackle in one game. Howard made his NFL debut on October 24, 2010 against the Tennessee Titans.

In order to better fit into new offensive line coach Howard Mudd's system, Howard lost about 15 pounds to get down to 330 pounds.[12] However, he was waived during final roster cuts on September 3, 2011.

Baltimore Ravens

Howard was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad on September 6, 2011.

New York Jets

The New York Jets signed Howard to their active roster off the Ravens' practice squad on November 25, 2011.[13]

On August 23, 2012, head coach Rex Ryan made the decision to bench Wayne Hunter, giving the starting Right Tackle job to Howard.[14]

Oakland Raiders

Howard signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the Oakland Raiders on March 12, 2014.[15] On September 7, 2014, Howard made his first career start at right guard, as well as his Oakland Raiders debut against the New York Jets.[16]

2014 season

On September 14, 2014, against the Houston Texans, Howard (started at right guard) and his offense gained 364 total yards, and the offensive line did not allow a sack for the first time that season.[17] On September 21, 2014, against the New England Patriots, Howard and his offensive line prevented a sack for the second straight game.[18] On October 12, 2014, against the San Diego Chargers, Howard and his offense gained a season high 396 total yards and the offensive line did not allow a sack for the third time that season.[19] On October 26, 2014, against the Cleveland Browns, Howard and his offense gained 387 yards, which included quarterback Derek Carr's first career 300+ yards passing game.[20] On November 9, 2014, against the Denver Broncos, Howard and his offensive line that allowed zero sacks for the fourth time in the 2014 season.[21] On November 20, 2014, against the Kansas City Chiefs, Howard and his offense paved the way for a season high 179 rushing yards, which included running back Latavius Murray's first career 100+ yards rushing game.[22] On December 7, 2014, against the San Francisco 49ers, Howard and his offense gained 330 total yards, which included quarterback Derek Carr posting a season-high quarterback rating of 140.2.[23]

2015 season

On October 11, 2015, in a game against the Denver Broncos, Howard attempted a chop block on Denver Broncos' linebacker Von Miller but missed, allowing Miller to sack Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, forcing Carr to fumble and changing the momentum of a game that ultimately ended in a Raiders loss. On December 19, 2015, Howard was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury, after starting 13 games with the Raiders at right tackle.[24]

2016 season

Howard played in 11 games with 10 starts with the Raiders at right tackle, having dealing with an ankle injury that caused him to miss five games.

On July 28, 2017, Howard was released by the Raiders.[25]

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On August 4, 2017, Howard signed a three-year, $16 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens after significant injuries to the team's offensive line during training camp.[26] He started all 16 games at right tackle for the Ravens in 2017.

On March 13, 2018, the Ravens declined the option on Howard's contract, making him a free agent.[27]

Indianapolis Colts

On May 9, 2018, Howard signed with the Indianapolis Colts.[28] He was released on September 1, 2018.[29]

Washington Redskins

Howard was signed by the Washington Redskins on November 5, 2018, following season ending injuries to starting offensive linemen Brandon Scherff, and Shawn Lauvao.[30] He played in five games, starting one at right guard, before being placed on injured reserve with a hip injury on December 21.[31]

Personal life

Howard has two brothers, Marcel and Aaron, who both played college football at Iowa State, and two sisters Amy and Ashley.[7]

References
  1. "Austin Howard, OT for the Oakland Raiders at NFL.com". NFL.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  2. "UNI Hosts #12 Iowa, UMKC This Week". CSTV. December 6, 2005. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  3. Newhoff, Doug (February 3, 2005). "Panthers get some insurance". The Courier. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  4. Coss, Matt (December 23, 2005). "Scouts study Jacobson, Stout gets blocks record in UNI win". The Courier. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  5. Schmidt, Kent (December 1, 2007). "Flacco Leads Delaware In Upset of No. 1 UNI". CSTV. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  6. "Newcomers to UNI offensive line face heavy burden". The Courier. August 22, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  7. Doxsie, Don (September 3, 2009). "UNI lineman hopes family's mark vs. Iowa remains perfect He also has two older sisters,, Amy Howard and Ashley Howard. Both of his sisters reside in Thornton, Colorado". The Courier. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  8. Sullivan, Jim (August 10, 2008). "Farley pleased with Panthers' first week of practice". The Courier. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  9. Sullivan, Jim (November 11, 2008). "Farley fusses over playoff talk". The Courier. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  10. "UNI's Ruffin named MVFC co-defensive player of year". The Courier. November 25, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  11. McLane, Jeff (April 27, 2010). "Eagles add 11 rookies - 3 of them big blockers". philly.com. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  12. McLane, Jeff (July 9, 2011). "Eagles' Howard working to stay fit, working for a roster spot". philly.com. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  13. Jets Media Relations Department (November 25, 2011). "T Howard Signed to Practice Squad". New York Jets. Archived from the original on November 29, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  14. "Jets Right Tackle Wayne Hunter Benched; Austin Howard To Replace Him As Starter". CBS News New York. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  15. Wesseling, Chris (March 12, 2014). "Austin Howard, Oakland Raiders strike five-year deal". National Football League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  16. "Jets-Raiders: 9 Things to Know". www.newyorkjets.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  17. "Texans vs. Raiders - Team Statistics - September 14, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  18. "Raiders vs. Patriots - Box Score - September 21, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  19. "Chargers vs. Raiders - Team Statistics - October 12, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  20. "Raiders vs. Browns - Team Statistics - October 26, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  21. "Broncos vs. Raiders - Box Score - November 9, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  22. "Chiefs vs. Raiders - Team Statistics - November 20, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  23. "49ers vs. Raiders - Game Recap - December 7, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  24. "Austin Howard placed on season ending injured reserve, Tevin McDonald activated". SilverAndBlackPride.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  25. "Raiders Sign Andrew East; Release Austin Howard, Taiwan Jones". Raiders.com. July 28, 2017. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017.
  26. Shook, Nick (August 4, 2017). "Ravens sign OT Austin Howard to three-year deal". NFL.com.
  27. "Report: Ravens will not pick up OT Austin Howard's option". BaltimoreBeatdown.com. March 13, 2018. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  28. "Colts Sign Veteran Tackle Austin Howard". Colts.com. May 9, 2018.
  29. Walker, Andrew (September 1, 2018). "Colts Announce Final 2018 Roster Cuts". Colts.com.
  30. Shook, Nick (November 5, 2018). "Roundup: Scherff, Lauvao, Richardson out for year". NFL.com.
  31. "Redskins Sign Timon Parris To The Active Roster, Place Austin Howard On Injured Reserve". Redskins.com. December 21, 2018.
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