Obinna Eze

American football player (born 1998)

American football player

Memphis (2017–2020)
TCU (2021)

Undrafted:2022Career history

Detroit Lions (2022–2023)*
Pittsburgh Steelers (2023)*
New York Jets (2023–present)*

* Offseason and/or practice squad member only Roster status:ActiveCareer NFL statistics

Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Obinna Eze (born June 12, 1998) is an American football offensive tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Memphis and TCU.

Early life and high school

Eze migrated to the United States in 2015. Initially a basketball player, he did not start playing football until arriving in the US.^[1]

College career

Eze was a highly-ranked OT recruit, and received scholarship offers from many SEC schools.^[2]^[3] He eventually committed to Memphis prior to his senior year of high school.^[4]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.99 m)	321 lb (146 kg)	36+1⁄8 in (0.92 m)	9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m)	5.17 s	1.79 s	3.01 s	5.00 s	8.01 s	27.5 in (0.70 m)	8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)	18 reps
Sources:^[5]^[6]

Detroit Lions

Eze went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, but was signed on May 13, 2022 ahead of Detroit Lions training camp. His quest to make the 53-man roster, along with other players', was featured on the HBO television show Hard Knocks.^[7] During the 2022 preseason, though not starting, he appeared in 31 snaps against the Falcons,^[8] 22 snaps against the Colts,^[8] and 23 snaps against the Steelers.^[9]

Eze was waived on August 30, as part of final roster cuts, but signed to the practice squad the next day.^[10]^[11]^[12] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023. He was waived on August 27, 2023.^[13]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On October 3, 2023, Eze signed with the practice squad of the Pittsburgh Steelers.^[14] He was released on October 24.^[15]

Michigan Panthers

On December 8, 2023, Eze signed with the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL).^[16] He was released on December 12 to sign with an NFL team.^[17]

New York Jets

On December 13, 2023, Eze was signed to the New York Jets practice squad.^[18] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024.^[19]

Personal life

Eze's parents live in Nigeria. He has four siblings.^[3] He is married to Yasmeen Eze.^[7]

References

^ Barnes, Evan. "Detroit Lions, former Memphis OL Obinna Eze praises Tigers football on HBO's 'Hard Knocks'". The Commercial Appeal.
^ "Obinna Eze, TCU Horned Frogs, Offensive Tackle". 247Sports.
^ ^a ^b "Obinna Eze - 2020 - Football". University of Memphis Athletics.
^ "Davidson Academy's Obinna Eze commits to Memphis". The Tennessean.
^ "Obinna Eze Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
^ "2022 Draft Scout Obinna Eze, Texas Christian NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Pouncy, Colton. "Episode 3 recap: Obinna Eze's bounce-back, Craig Reynolds' progress". The Athletic.
^ ^a ^b https://nflcdns.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/59113/DET_Gamebook.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ https://nflcdns.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/59158/PIT_Gamebook.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "Detroit Lions roster cut tracker: Who didn't make the 53-man roster?". August 29, 2022.
^ "The Official Site of the Detroit Lions". www.detroitlions.com.
^ Rogers, Justin. "Lions bring back 13 players for practice squad". The Detroit News.
^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 27, 2023.
^ "Steelers make practice squad moves". Steelers.com. October 3, 2023.
^ "Steelers make practice squad moves". Steelers.com. October 24, 2023.
^ Larsen, James (2023-12-08). "Michigan Panthers Sign Free Agent OT Obinna Eze For 2024". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
^ @USFLPanthers (December 13, 2023). "Contract Terminated/Signing with NFL team" (Tweet). Retrieved December 13, 2023 – via Twitter.
^ Greenberg, Ethan. "Jets Sign OL Obinna Eze to Practice Squad". newyorkjets.com. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
^ Greenberg, Ethan (January 8, 2024). "Jets Sign Nine Players to Reserve/Future Contracts". NewYorkJets.com.