No. 41 – Indianapolis Colts | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Conroe, Texas, U.S. | October 15, 1998||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Oak Ridge (Conroe) | ||||||||
College: | Houston (2017–2020) | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 2021 / Round: 7 / Pick: 259 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Player stats at PFR |
Grant Stuard (born October 15, 1998) is an American professional football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Houston, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the final pick in the 2021 NFL draft, making him that year's Mr. Irrelevant.
Stuard helped take care of his four siblings while growing up, as his mother battled a drug addiction and his father spent time in prison. [1]
Stuard played four years with the University of Houston, primarily as a linebacker, although he also played some running back.
In the 2017 season his freshman season he played in 7 games before missing 4 games and the 2017 Hawaii Bowl due to a torn meniscus. He recorded 2 assisted tackles both against Rice University. In the 2018 season Stuard played 13 games and had 1 start. He led the 2018 Houston Cougars football team with 11 special teams tackles. He also played running back late in the year. He had 5 attempts and 35 yards running the ball, along with 30 tackles, 18 solo and 12 assisted. In the 2019 season Stuard started all 12 games. He had 97 tackles which led the team and had 9.5 tackles for loss good for third in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He had 1 sack and 4 pass deflections. Stuard was named to the 2019 All-AAC Second-team. In the 2020 season he was a team captain for his senior year and led the Cougars in tackles: he made 61 total tackles (including 35 solo tackles) in a COVID-shortened 7-game regular season. He led the AAC in tackles per game with 8.4 tackles/game. For his senior season, he changed his uniform number from 3 to 0. [2]
Stuard skipped the 2020 New Mexico Bowl to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Bench press | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 11+1⁄2 in (1.82 m) | 230 lb (104 kg) | 29+1⁄2 in (0.75 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 28 reps | ||||||||
All values from Pro Day [3] [4] [5] |
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose Stuard with the final pick (259th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft, making him that year's Mr. Irrelevant. [6] [7] Stuard signed his four-year rookie contract with Tampa Bay on May 13, 2021. [8]
On August 30, 2022, Stuard and a seventh-round pick were traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a sixth-round pick. [9] On December 3, 2023, Stuard scored his first NFL touchdown on an 18-yard blocked punt return during the Colts' overtime victory over the Tennessee Titans. [10]
Stuard appeared in a television advertisement for Uber Eats during his rookie season; the ad humorously referenced his Mr. Irrelevant status by cutting him off as he is about to say his own name. [11]
Simeon James Rice is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals third overall in the 1996 NFL draft.
Dallas Dean Clark is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, earning unanimous All-American honors and recognition as the top college tight end in the nation. He was selected by Indianapolis in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft and he was a member of their Super Bowl XLI championship team against the Chicago Bears. He also played in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Baltimore Ravens.
Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the person drafted with the final pick of an NFL draft. Most players drafted with the very last draft pick do not even end up playing in an actual NFL game, let alone go on to having successful careers in the NFL. Oftentimes, a player chosen with this pick is released from the team that drafted them before preseason or training camps begin. Some notable exceptions include Jacque MacKinnon, Ryan Succop, and Brock Purdy.
Aqib Talib is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Kansas, where he received consensus All-American honors, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft. Talib also played for the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Rams, winning Super Bowl 50 with Denver. In 2020, he made his debut as an analyst for NFL on Fox.
Sean Joseph Baker is a former American football safety. He signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 as an undrafted free agent, and has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts.
Justin Donovan Houston is an American professional football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Georgia, where he earned All-American honors, and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, he was also named to the All-Pro team in 2014. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins.
Vernon Hargreaves III is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and was selected 11th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2016 NFL draft.
DeForest George Buckner is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. With the 49ers, Buckner made a Pro Bowl and was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2019. With the Colts, he was selected to the first-team All Pro in 2020 and made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2023.
Ryan Smith is a German professional American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at North Carolina Central. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Joe Haeg is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Dakota State and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL draft. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns, and won Super Bowl LV with Tampa Bay.
Ronnie Harrison Jr. is an American professional football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Matt Gay is an American professional football placekicker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). Gay played college football at the University of Utah and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Darius Shaquille Leonard is an American professional football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the South Carolina State Bulldogs and was selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts. In his rookie season, Leonard led the league in tackles and was named a First-Team All-Pro and Defensive Rookie of the Year; he was also voted into the NFL Top 100 the following offseason. Leonard has been informally nicknamed "Maniac" due to his energetic and productive on-field play.
Antoine Duane Winfield Jr. is an American professional football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Golphers, earning unanimous All-American honors. Winfield was selected by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Khalil Davis is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska. He has been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams, and Birmingham Stallions.
Kwity Paye is a Liberian professional American football defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Guinea as a refugee of the First Liberian Civil War and emigrated to the United States as a baby. Paye played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Colts in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Temidayo Jordan Odeyingbo is an American professional football defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Vanderbilt, and was drafted by the Colts in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Chris Wilcox is an American football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round, 251st overall, in the 2021 NFL draft.
Logan Hall is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played college football at Houston before being selected by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.
Eric Morris Johnson II is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri State, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft.