Austin Howard Explained

Austin Howard
Number:68, 77, 79, 78
Position:Offensive tackle
Birth Date:March 22, 1987
Birth Place:Davenport, Iowa, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:7
Weight Lbs:330
High School:Davenport Central
(Davenport, Iowa)
College:Northern Iowa
Undraftedyear:2010
Pastteams:
Highlights:
  • 2× Second-team All-MVFC (2008, 2009)
Statlabel1:Games played
Statvalue1:97
Statlabel2:Games started
Statvalue2:89
Pfr:HowaAu20

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 Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, and Washington Redskins.

Early life

Howard attended Davenport Central High School in Davenport, Iowa.

College career

Howard signed with Northern Iowa in 2005 as a tight end.[2] He was redshirted during the 2005 season.

He joined the school's basketball team in December 2005 as a forward,[3] 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.

Howard made the switch from tight end to offensive tackle during the 2008 offseason.[7] He earned MVFC offensive lineman of the week honors following a game against Missouri State on November 8, 2008.[8]

Howard earned second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors following the 2008 and 2009 seasons.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11] However, he was waived during final roster cuts on September 3, 2011.

Baltimore Ravens (first stint)

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.[12]

On August 23, 2012, head coach Rex Ryan made the decision to bench Wayne Hunter, giving the starting Right Tackle job to Howard.[13]

Oakland Raiders

Howard signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the Oakland Raiders on March 12, 2014.[14] 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.[15]

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.[16] On September 21, 2014, against the New England Patriots, Howard and his offensive line prevented a sack for the second straight game.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22]

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.[23]

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.[24]

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On August 4, 2017, Howard signed a three-year, $16 million contract with the Ravens after significant injuries to the team's offensive line during training camp.[25] 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.[26]

Indianapolis Colts

On May 9, 2018, Howard signed with the Indianapolis Colts.[27] He was released on September 1, 2018.[28]

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.[29] He played in five games, starting one at right guard, before being placed on injured reserve with a hip injury on December 21.[30]

Personal life

Howard has two brothers, Marcel and Aaron, who both played college football at Iowa State, and two sisters Amy and Ashley.[31]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Austin Howard, OT for the Oakland Raiders at NFL.com . . January 14, 2016.
  2. News: Newhoff, Doug . Panthers get some insurance . . February 3, 2005 . September 2, 2010.
  3. News: UNI Hosts #12 Iowa, UMKC This Week . https://web.archive.org/web/20060102223555/http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/120605abb.html . dead . January 2, 2006 . . December 6, 2005 . September 2, 2010.
  4. News: Coss, Matt . Scouts study Jacobson, Stout gets blocks record in UNI win . . December 23, 2005 . September 2, 2010.
  5. News: Schmidt, Kent . Flacco Leads Delaware In Upset of No. 1 UNI . https://web.archive.org/web/20071204185358/http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stories/120107aci.html . dead . December 4, 2007 . . December 1, 2007 . September 2, 2010.
  6. News: Newcomers to UNI offensive line face heavy burden . . August 22, 2008 . September 2, 2010.
  7. News: Sullivan, Jim . Farley pleased with Panthers' first week of practice . . August 10, 2008 . September 2, 2010.
  8. News: Sullivan, Jim . Farley fusses over playoff talk . . November 11, 2008 . September 2, 2010.
  9. News: UNI's Ruffin named MVFC co-defensive player of year . . November 25, 2009 . September 2, 2010.
  10. News: McLane, Jeff . Eagles add 11 rookies - 3 of them big blockers . philly.com . April 27, 2010 . September 1, 2010.
  11. News: McLane, Jeff . Eagles' Howard working to stay fit, working for a roster spot . philly.com . July 9, 2011 . July 10, 2011.
  12. Web site: T Howard Signed to Practice Squad . New York Jets . Jets Media Relations Department . November 25, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111129023247/http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-1/T-Howard-Signed-to-Practice-Squad/e8198656-bdee-480a-b2d1-856f9aab989e . November 29, 2011 . November 27, 2011 . dead .
  13. Web site: Jets Right Tackle Wayne Hunter Benched; Austin Howard To Replace Him As Starter. CBS News New York. August 24, 2012.
  14. Web site: Austin Howard, Oakland Raiders strike five-year deal . Wesseling, Chris . March 12, 2014 . National Football League . https://web.archive.org/web/20140312212904/http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000333263/article/austin-howard-oakland-raiders-strike-fiveyear-deal . March 12, 2014 . March 12, 2014 . live .
  15. Web site: Jets-Raiders: 9 Things to Know. www.newyorkjets.com. December 20, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222085353/http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-randylangefb/Jets-Raiders-9-Things-to-Know/a0e9e131-ab79-4ea9-baba-0ade89bb6803. December 22, 2015. dead.
  16. Web site: Texans vs. Raiders - Team Statistics - September 14, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. December 20, 2015.
  17. Web site: Raiders vs. Patriots - Box Score - September 21, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. December 20, 2015.
  18. Web site: Chargers vs. Raiders - Team Statistics - October 12, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. December 20, 2015.
  19. Web site: Raiders vs. Browns - Team Statistics - October 26, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. December 20, 2015.
  20. Web site: Broncos vs. Raiders - Box Score - November 9, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. December 20, 2015.
  21. Web site: Chiefs vs. Raiders - Team Statistics - November 20, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. December 20, 2015.
  22. Web site: 49ers vs. Raiders - Game Recap - December 7, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. December 20, 2015.
  23. Web site: Austin Howard placed on season ending injured reserve, Tevin McDonald activated. SilverAndBlackPride.com. December 19, 2015 . December 20, 2015.
  24. Web site: Raiders Sign Andrew East; Release Austin Howard, Taiwan Jones. https://web.archive.org/web/20171231203723/http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/Raiders-Sign-Andrew-East-Release-Austin-Howard-Taiwan-Jones/46c86d8f-4cbe-4539-a1df-100c2d40371d. dead. December 31, 2017. Raiders.com. July 28, 2017.
  25. Web site: Ravens sign OT Austin Howard to three-year deal. https://web.archive.org/web/20170805062549/http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000825724/article/ravens-signing-austin-howard-to-threeyear-deal. dead. August 5, 2017. Shook, Nick. NFL.com. August 4, 2017.
  26. Web site: Report: Ravens will not pick up OT Austin Howard's option. BaltimoreBeatdown.com. March 13, 2018. March 13, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180313202232/https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2018/3/13/17113886/report-ravens-will-not-pick-up-ot-austin-howards-option. March 13, 2018. dead.
  27. Web site: Colts Sign Veteran Tackle Austin Howard. Colts.com. May 9, 2018.
  28. Web site: Colts Announce Final 2018 Roster Cuts. Walker, Andrew. Colts.com. September 1, 2018.
  29. News: Roundup: Scherff, Lauvao, Richardson out for year. Shook. Nick. November 5, 2018. NFL.com.
  30. Web site: Redskins Sign Timon Parris To The Active Roster, Place Austin Howard On Injured Reserve. Redskins.com. December 21, 2018.
  31. News: Doxsie, Don . 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. . . September 3, 2009 . September 2, 2010.