 Vollmer with the New England Patriots in 2015 | |||||||
| No. 76 | |||||||
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| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1984-07-10)10 July 1984 (age 41) Kaarst,North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 320 lb (145 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Quirinus (Neuss, Germany) | ||||||
| College | Houston | ||||||
| NFL draft | 2009: 2nd round, 58th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Sebastian Georg Vollmer (German pronunciation:[zeˈbasti̯a(ː)nˈɡeːɔʁkˈfɔlmɐ]; born 10 July 1984)[1] is a German former professionalAmerican football player who was anoffensive tackle for theNew England Patriots of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theHouston Cougars and was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the2009 NFL draft and played his entire eight-year career with the team. He was named a second-teamAll-Pro in 2010.
Born inKaarst,Germany, Vollmer did not start playing American football until he was 14 years old. He attended Quirinus Gymnasium, a secondary school inNeuss, Germany. He played American football for theDüsseldorf Panther and helped his team to a 25–0 record and two national Junior Bowl wins. After appearing in the 2003 Global Junior Championships inSan Diego, California, he was recruited by college coaches as a 250-poundtight end.
Vollmer chose to attend theUniversity of Houston, where he played for theHouston Cougars football team beginning in 2004. Heredshirted his freshman season in 2004, and appeared in eight games as a reserve tight end in 2005. After requiring back surgery as a sophomore, Vollmer switched from tight end to left tackle, where he started 25 straight games for Houston. At Houston, Vollmer's offensive line coach wasJoe Gilbert, who had previously worked at theUniversity of Toledo, where he coached another future Patriots lineman,Nick Kaczur.[2] As a senior, he was named to the first-team All-Conference USA at left tackle.
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft7+5⁄8 in (2.02 m) | 312 lb (142 kg) | 5.13 s | 1.77 s | 2.90 s | 4.50 s | 7.51 s | 36.5 in (0.93 m) | 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) | 32 reps | |||
| All values fromPro Day[3] | ||||||||||||
Vollmer was not invited to theNFL Combine, but did have a private workout with Patriots offensive line coachDante Scarnecchia prior to the2009 NFL draft.[2]
Vollmer was drafted by theNew England Patriots in the second round (58th overall) of the2009 NFL draft.[4] On 17 July, he signed a four-year contract.[5]
Vollmer made his official NFL debut in the Patriots' first game of the season. He made his first start atleft tackle, filling in for an injuredMatt Light, in the Patriots' record-setting 59–0 victory in Week 6 against theTennessee Titans, and started the next four games. After being sidelined for two weeks with a head injury, Vollmer made his sixth start of the season in Week 14 against theCarolina Panthers; Vollmer lined up at both left tackle and right tackle, in place of veteran tackleNick Kaczur, during the game. Vollmer started the Patriots' next two games after Kaczur was injured, and when Kaczur returned in Week 17, he continued to start at right tackle, including the Patriots' playoff loss to theBaltimore Ravens.
In2010, Vollmer started all 16 games of the regular season at right tackle for the Patriots. He was named to the Associated Press2010 All-Pro Team (2nd team, thus one of the four best tackles—left or right—in the NFL), but was not voted to the2011 Pro Bowl, as "Vollmer's anonymity kept him out of the Pro Bowl".[6]
Vollmer injured his back in a preseason game and missed the beginning of the 2011 season. He returned in week 2 and rotated withNate Solder at right tackle but was injured again in the win over theSan Diego Chargers. Vollmer returned in week 8 vs thePittsburgh Steelers, rotating again with Solder. After another injury, he started in theSuper Bowl XLVI loss to the New York Giants.[7]
Vollmer played and started in all but one regular season game. Vollmer became a free agent after the season. On March 24, 2013, Vollmer signed a new, four-year deal with the Patriots worth up to $27 million, with $8.25 million guaranteed.[8] Achieving the full amount of the contract will require that Vollmer play at least 90 percent of offensive snaps in each year of the contract and, in 2015 and 2016, be active for every game of the season; his total base salary for the four years is $7.75 million.[9]
On 27 October, in a game against theMiami Dolphins, Vollmer broke his right leg. On 29 October, the Patriots placed Sebastian Vollmer on the season-endinginjured reserve list.[10]
Vollmer played and started in all but one regular season game for the Patriots. He started inSuper Bowl XLIX and helped the Patriots defeat the Seahawks to earn his first Super Bowl Championship.
AsMarkus Koch was drafted 30th overall by the Redskins in 1986 and helped Washington winSuper Bowl XXII two years later, Vollmer is often erroneously credited as the first German ever to be selected in an NFL draft, and further, to win a Super Bowl title.[11]
The Patriots won the first 10 games before injuries took their toll. WithNate Solder out for the season, Vollmer was moved to the left tackle spot, then missed a game due to a concussion.
Vollmer was placed on the Reserve/PUP list on 30 August 2016 after having shoulder surgery while also dealing with a hip injury.[12] However, due to the seriousness of his injuries, he was never activated off thePUP list, and missed the entire 2016 season.[13] On 5 February 2017, Vollmer's Patriots appeared inSuper Bowl LI. In the game, the Patriots defeated theAtlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime.[14]
On 3 March 2017, Vollmer was released by the Patriots.[15]
On 16 May 2017, Vollmer announced his retirement from the NFL.[16] At the time of his retirement announcement, he reported he had lost 75 pounds from his playing weight of 320 pounds.[17]
Following his playing career, Vollmer has been active as a commentator andNFL expert for German television channelsProSieben andProSieben Maxx as part of the showran. He has been active as a commentator for the streaming serviceDAZN since September 2019.
Since 2023, Vollmer has been part ofRTL, the 3rd-biggest TV network in Germany, where he is a TV analyst for American football.
His autobiography, titledGerman Champion: Die Geschichte meiner NFL-Karriere, was published on 8 September 2018.
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