Justin Zimmer Explained

Justin Zimmer
Position:Defensive tackle
Birth Date:23 October 1992
Birth Place:Greenville, Michigan, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:3
Weight Lbs:300
High School:Greenville (MI)
College:Ferris State
Undraftedyear:2016
Pastteams:
Highlights:
Statlabel1:Total tackles
Statvalue1:35
Statlabel2:Sacks
Statvalue2:2.0
Statlabel3:Forced fumbles
Statvalue3:1
Pfr:ZimmJu00
Cfl:justin-zimmer/162059

Justin Zimmer (born October 23, 1992) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 7 seasons. He played college football at Ferris State University. Professionally, he has been a member of the Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL), in addition to the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

College career

Zimmer played four seasons for the Ferris State Bulldogs, compiling a total of 216 tackles, 26 sacks, 48.5 tackles for a loss, 1 interception, 1 touchdown, 14 pass deflections, 9 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 blocked kicks. He was a three time first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, a two time Division II All-American, and a three time Division II Academic All-American.[1]

Professional career

Buffalo Bills (first stint)

Zimmer signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent on May 6, 2016.[2] He was waived by the Bills on August 30, 2016.[3]

New Orleans Saints

On December 13, 2016, Zimmer was signed to the practice squad of the New Orleans Saints.[4] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Saints on January 2, 2017.[5] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[6]

Montreal Alouettes

Zimmer signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on September 21, 2017, and was added to the team's practice roster.[7] He was promoted to the active roster and appeared in the Alouettes' final game of the season, recording three tackles and one sack.[8]

Atlanta Falcons

On April 17, 2018, Zimmer was signed by the Atlanta Falcons.[9] Zimmer made the Falcons' 53-man roster, and made his regular season debut in Week 3.[10] He was waived by the Falcons on October 2, 2018, and was re-signed to the practice squad.[11] [12] On December 4, 2018, Zimmer was signed to the Falcons’ 53-man roster.[13]

On August 31, 2019, Zimmer was waived by the Falcons and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[14] [15]

Cleveland Browns

On December 3, 2019, Zimmer was signed by the Cleveland Browns off the Falcons' practice squad.[16] The Browns waived Zimmer with a non-football injury designation on July 31, 2020.[17]

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On August 16, 2020, Zimmer signed with the Buffalo Bills.[18] He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[19] [20] He was elevated to the active roster on September 12 and October 19 for the team's weeks 1 and 6 games against the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, and reverted to the practice squad the day after each game.[21] [22] He was signed to active roster on October 21.[23]

In Week 8 against the New England Patriots, Zimmer made a key play late in the fourth quarter, punching the ball out of Patriots quarterback Cam Newton's hands on a quarterback keeper as New England was driving down the field to either tie or win the game. The forced fumble and recovery by teammate Dean Marlowe sealed a 24–21 Bills win.[24] In Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals, Zimmer recorded his first career sack on Kyler Murray during the 32–30 loss.[25] During the Bills' Divisional Round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, Zimmer recorded a top speed of 18.45 miles per hour on an interception return, which was the second fastest speed by a Defensive Tackle during the 2020-21 season.

During the 2021 season, Zimmer was placed on injured reserve with a season-ending knee injury on November 11.[26] He became a free agent after the season, but was re-signed to the Bills' practice squad on October 4, 2022.[27]

Miami Dolphins

On November 23, 2022, Zimmer was signed by the Miami Dolphins off the Bills' practice squad.[28] On December 31, Zimmer was placed on season–ending injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.[29]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Justin Zimmer signs with Bills. Marshall. Scheldt. The Ferris State Torch. May 1, 2016. December 6, 2018.
  2. Web site: Bills announce deals with 14 undrafted free agents. Florio, Mike. Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. May 2, 2016. October 3, 2018.
  3. Web site: Reserve/PUP for Shaq Lawson; WR Little among cuts to get to 75. Brown, Chris. BuffaloBills.com. August 30, 2016. October 3, 2018. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170829115123/https://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/ReservePUP-for-Shaq-Lawson-WR-Little-among-cuts-to-get-to-75/00ccf95b-7563-4e66-8bd4-ab03b32895e0. August 29, 2017.
  4. Web site: New Orleans Saints sign defensive tackle Justin Zimmer to practice squad. Christopher. Dabe. NOLA.com. The Times-Picayune. December 13, 2016. October 3, 2018.
  5. Web site: New Orleans Saints sign seven players to reserve/future deals. John. Hendrix. CanalStreetChronicles.com. SB Nation. January 2, 2017. October 3, 2018.
  6. Web site: New Orleans Saints make 37 roster moves. NewOrleansSaints.com. September 2, 2017. September 2, 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20171007170254/http://www.neworleanssaints.com/news-and-events/article-1/New-Orleans-Saints-make-37-roster-moves/772dc16b-7962-4363-b7a8-85db4dd37f90. October 7, 2017.
  7. Web site: Former Ferris State standout Justin Zimmer signs with CFL team. Peter. Wallner. The Grand Rapids Press. MLive.com. September 21, 2017. December 6, 2018.
  8. Web site: Falcons sign ex-Seahawks DT Garrison Smith, DT Justin Zimmer, CB Tyson Graham. Cory. Woodroof. TheFalcoholic.com. SB Nation. April 17, 2018. December 6, 2018.
  9. Web site: Falcons announce signing of three defensive players. McFadden, Will. AtlantaFalcons.com. April 17, 2018. October 3, 2018.
  10. Web site: Justin Zimmer Career Game Log. Pro-Football-Reference.com. December 5, 2018.
  11. Web site: Falcons sign former Jaguars' defensive tackle Michael Bennett. Conway, Kelsey. AtlantaFalcons.com. October 2, 2018.
  12. Web site: Falcons sign defensive tackle Justin Zimmer to practice squad, waive cornerback Taveze Calhoun. Conway, Kelsey. AtlantaFalcons.com. October 4, 2018. October 5, 2018. October 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181005001820/https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/falcons-sign-defensive-tackle-justin-zimmer-to-practice-squad-waive-cornerback-t. dead.
  13. Web site: Falcons place Josh Harris on injured reserve, promote Justin Zimmer to active roster . Tabeek . Matthew . December 4, 2018 . AtlantaFalcons.com . 2019-11-26 . December 5, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181205041906/https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/falcons-place-josh-harris-on-injured-reserve-promote-justin-zimmer-to-active-ros . dead .
  14. Web site: Falcons 2019 roster announced . McFadden . Will . August 31, 2019 . AtlantaFalcons.com . 2019-11-26.
  15. Web site: Falcons sign seven players to practice squad . McFadden . Will . September 1, 2019 . AtlantaFalcons.com . 2019-11-26.
  16. Web site: Browns sign DT Justin Zimmer, make other roster moves. ClevelandBrowns.com. December 3, 2019.
  17. News: Browns release 4 players . ClevelandBrowns.com . July 31, 2020 . August 1, 2020.
  18. Web site: Bills sign DTs Justin Zimmer and Tanzel Smart. BuffaloBills.com. August 16, 2020.
  19. Web site: Bills announce these moves to get to the 53-man roster limit. Brown, Chris. BuffaloBills.com. September 5, 2020.
  20. Web site: Bills announce the initial 2020 practice squad. BuffaloBills.com. September 6, 2020.
  21. News: Cam Lewis, Justin Zimmer elevated from practice squad for Jets game . BuffaloBills.com . September 12, 2020 . September 29, 2020.
  22. BuffaloBills . We've elevated DE Bryan Cox, Jr. and DT Justin Zimmer for tonight's game. #KCvsBUF . 1318258319350530048 . October 19, 2020 . October 31, 2020.
  23. Web site: Bills promote DT Justin Zimmer to the 53-man roster. BuffaloBills.com. October 21, 2020.
  24. Web site: Reporter . Jay Skurski News Sports . 2020-11-01 . 10 observations: Justin Zimmer's forced fumble saves the day for Bills . 2020-11-05 . The Buffalo News . en.
  25. Web site: Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals - November 15th, 2020 . 2020-11-20 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  26. Web site: Bills sign Cam Lewis to 53-man roster; Justin Zimmer place on injured reserve + other moves announced. BuffaloBills.com. November 11, 2021.
  27. Web site: Boccachino . John . Warren . Matt . 2022 NFL Free Agency: Bills tender OG Ryan Bates, but not DT Justin Zimmer . buffalorumblings.com . March 16, 2022 . Vox Media, LLC. . 4 April 2022.
  28. Web site: Miami Dolphins sign Zimmer. MiamiDolphins.com. November 23, 2022.
  29. Web site: Dolphins make a flurry of roster moves ahead of Patriots game. October 7, 2023. dolphinswire.usatoday.com. en.

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